Dark as Night
by Flobear777
Summary: This is a dark romance and twist on the classic tale of Hades and Persephone. In this version of the tale, things are not as they seem, and choices will need to be made to effect how the future is told. Rating changed to M. R
1. Chapter 1: The Call

The girl ran through the wood, glancing back every once in a while to make sure her companions weren't following her. She went further than she had ever gone before; past the old oak, and the dry creek bed; past the meadow and Hermit's hut. She had to pull her flowing white gown away from thorns, and slip the strap of her sandals back up her heel several times as she wandered. She went so deep into the woods that the light seemed afraid to penetrate the vast covering of the leaves, and the ever-present night draped its overwhelming silence over her. She went until her legs would move no more, and when she finally felt ready, she knelt. Clasping her hands together over her heart, she bowed her head, and to the watchful trees she appeared to be crying. She sat in the quiet for so long that the plants seemed to caress her, and the soft breath of the trees seemed to encroach on her mind. Tears dripped on her face, but after what could have been several hours or several days, she looked up, sensing the smallest of movements. She could not find the will to stand, but she did dry her eyes. She felt her heart almost still, and yet she felt a warmth she could not explain fill the pit of her stomach—he had come for her. She looked into the eyes of Lord Death and she smiled for him, a grim façade of a smile that made her want to laugh in a horrible way. Lord Death was not amused. He looked just as she had always thought he would; he had a cloak that stretched so far into the forest that it disappeared, and while his thin pale hands were clasped in front of him, only a shadow of his face was visible from underneath his hood. He was so silent she could hear her own beating heart.

"Foolish girl." His words were poison, biting at her and stinging her. She flinched, but remained strong—she had a purpose for summoning this master of humanity. But before she could speak, he held up his skeletal hand. "You came here too early—you are here before your time. This is not the way things should be."

"I summoned you for a reason."

"No one has ever summoned me. It isn't possible. I am not a dog, to be at a human's beck and call."

"Nonetheless, I have done it. And now you must listen to me, because you are interested." She waited, but he remained still and silent as… death. "You have taken my whole family. I live with people who have agreed to raise me, because they are kind. But you have taken anyone I have ever cared about. Pets, people, they are all the same to you. I want to know what you have against me." She knew she was taking a risk—most people thought that everything she had lost was to be blamed on fate, but she knew better. Her risk was paid off with the way Death would not look at her—she could tell because she did not feel the jagged wounds of his stare. Her own dagger had hit its mark.

"I do not need to explain myself to you. I can take you whenever I want."

"But you won't."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because you would have already. And besides, you already said it—now is not my time."

"Very well—I will tell you. But mark these words girl, I do not tell you because of anything you say. I tell you because I wish to." He stopped, allowing his words to take full effect, before continuing. "I have watched you for your whole life. Since before you could walk I have watched you. I could tell you were something special. And I was right. But there is more to your story than that. I did not take your loved ones," he stopped, and looked at the sky for a moment, before returning level gaze to her. "Tell me. What do you remember of your parents?" she looked at him, feeling slightly ashamed.

"Nothing. I remember nothing. My adopted family took me in when I was young, and I have no memory of before my time with them. I always assumed that was your doing."

"You have no memory of your real parents because that memory was taken from you. You are with a different family because those who control your fate placed you there." He stepped closer to her, and while she felt her heart beat slower still, she took his offered hand and was pulled up with ease by him. She didn't notice at first that he didn't release her hand. "And you feel connected to me for a reason as well. But I won't be telling you that yet. I cannot answer all your questions here," he said, and he began to step backward, still holding her hand. She narrowed her eyes, confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked, but even as the words left her mouth she could feel the answer. He gestured, and his cloak billowed up into smoke, revealing a doorway in its deep blackness. He continued to step backward, but with his free hand he threw his hood back, revealing a startlingly handsome but terrifying face, completed by black eyes.

"It means you'll have to trust me…Persephone."


	2. Chapter 2: The Awakening

If I owned Greek Mythology, I would not need to write fan fiction.

Also, did I mention that I picture Death having Christian Bales' voice, from Howl's Moving Castle? (yummm)

Persephone rubbed her eyes, gradually dragging herself into a sitting position. She felt like she could sleep forever here. With a fierce stretch, she groaned and finally threw her legs over the side of what could only be described as a black cloud. Using the skull-topped bedposts to drag herself to standing, she licked her lips. The cavern that Hades had led her to was dark, lit only by green flame in lanterns on the walls. Running a hand through her chocolate hair, she raised an eyebrow. He certainly had an unusual taste in decoration. There were woven rugs on the floor bearing scenes of utter desolation; man killing man, man killing woman, man killing beast, whatever they were, they bore the traces of the Lord of Death. On the walls were several tapestries that carried those same traces of his mark. She dressed in her tunic that she had brought into the depths, and slipped on her sandals, readying herself. There was no mirror in her room, but she knew that her hair would be frizzy and loose from its ties, and her violet eyes would be wide with excitement.

They had always been a target of self-consciousness—her eyes. They were not considered particularly beautiful; in fact many people had thought of her as strange and some had even accused her of witchcraft. In public her mother had even sometimes asked her to wear a cloak over her eyes, in order to keep the ignorant people quiet. And she generally kept her gaze focused exclusively on the ground. Except for when she was standing up to all-powerful Gods, that is. Straightening her tunic one last time and pulling her hair down in front of her eyes, she walked through the stone doorway and into a large stone 'welcoming room' as the Lord of Death had called it. To her left was a large double-door entrance that led to a courtyard and to the right was a large grand staircase. She took the staircase, wincing a bit at the freezing stone that the banister was made of. Here, too, the presence of death was overwhelming, and expressed in everything from the ripped black flags hung on the stone walls to the black and red carpet that puffed dust as she climbed. She wrinkled her nose. That would need to change if she were to stay there for a long period of time. She reached the top of the long staircase, huffing a little bit, and found herself standing in a hallway with three doors. She took the door to the right, and jumped when she saw Death himself sitting in a chair at the end of a long table.

"Do you always snoop when you first arrive in a stranger's house?" he asked slowly, his low voice a growl.

She shivered a little bit, but managed to stutter, "I-I wasn't snooping."

The shadows around him roiled, black smoke that surrounded him like a fog. They thickened so only his dark eyes were visible, narrowed in false anger. She knew it was false, because she thought she could see a hint of humor around his eyes, and the lines there looked more like laugh lines than anything else. "If you weren't snooping, what exactly were you doing?" he said, even slower, if that was possible.

"I was just trying to find you," she said carefully, staring at the floor.

"And as much as that fills my heart with joy, I am curious as to why you would want to?"

"Well, I would like to know why you blindfolded me on the way here," she said, her tone harder. She recoiled from the memory of the previous night. He had led her through the door, and helped her step up onto a chariot of bone. There, he wrapped a strip of black silk across her eyes, and took off. She could remember hearing different things as they traveled—screams, moans, and prayers—and then she felt him lift her up with an arm around her torso and the other under her legs and set her down in a boat. There, she started to fall asleep, because the air was so still and silent and it overwhelmed her ears. She only vaguely remembered him carrying her to the bed, but she did distinctly remember him give a dark chuckle as she nudged her face into his chest.

At the memory, she felt her cheeks redden, and saw a mocking smile appear on his face. "You were blindfolded because you would not be able to handle everything that you would have seen. It's as simple as that." He gave a little shrug, and lifted a wine glass that she had not seen before to his lips.

"A little early for wine, isn't it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The glass paused. "Who are you to tell me that, Mea? I am… a grown man," another dark chuckle, "and you are in _my _house."

She held her breath, eyes on the floor, hoping he wouldn't decide to send her back to the world above. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, because he leaned forward.

"Don't worry, I won't be sending you back to the surface any time soon. Besides," he paused, waiting until she dared to look into his eyes again, "how do you know it is wine?"

She was saved the distress of responding by a loud knock at the door of the dining room. The god glanced at it, which was apparently enough of an affirmation for a skeletal servant to come rushing in. He was tall, and dressed in black just as Death was. He crossed over to where Death sat, leaned over, and muttered, "Your brother would like to know where—" he was cut off as the god raised his hand.

"Very good, Corbin. Thank you." The man nodded and left, not once looking to where Persephone stood.

"Would you care to sit down, Keaira?" he gestured to the seat closest to him, but Persephone took the seat at the other end of the table, directly facing him.

"Why won't you call me by name?" she asked suspiciously.

"Why are you so mistrusting, Angel? If I remember correctly, _you _asked _me _if you could join me here. I thought I was being rather hospitable."

"Why won't you call me by my name?" she repeated, "you did before we came down here."

"Very astute of you," he said.

She waited a while, before letting out a huff of air. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

He chuckled, "not yet, Princess." At the mention of his latest nickname, she felt a little flutter in her stomach, and her heart seemed to pound a bit more with his words. Her shyness took over once more, and suddenly the pristine stone floor was extremely interesting. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard his chair slide back; heard his soft footsteps cross the distance between them. She saw the black fog that followed him first, it reached towards her with its tendrils, curling around her feet and embracing her in their coolness. When she saw his smooth black shoes come into view, she closed her eyes. A moment later, a cool finger lifted her chin, until her head was tilted up a little bit.

"_Open your eyes,"_ he whispered. So she did. He used that lone finger to pull her nearer to him, until her mouth was mere inches away from his. His black eyes froze her in place, their depths endless and haunting. She had a feeling she was seeing a rare moment of openness in him—he was showing her who he was, with his eyes. And it seemed like no matter how long she searched them, she would never know the full story. And, despite how hard she tried, she could not ignore just how strikingly handsome he was. She felt a sudden urge to kiss him… and then she blinked. He was guarded again. He removed his finger, and she leaned back, knowing that there was a blush rising on her face again. In fact, now that there was a respectable distance between them, she second guessed herself. Perhaps she had never seen anything in the first place. Perhaps she was just being silly.

"You know," he interrupted her thoughts; "Usually people won't meet my gaze because they are afraid of me. But I do not think that is why you won't look. You are the first person I have ever met who did not fall in my presence; who did not beg me to leave them alone, and let them live. It's quite… refreshing." All at once she was sure that he had read her mind, and he knew exactly what she had been feeling, when his gaze was so open. She licked her lips, and saw his gaze flick toward them momentarily. He cleared his throat, and suddenly turned to the door. As he left, he turned back for a moment to say, "I have some business to attend to. The castle is completely free to you, but you _must not go outside._ If you need, anything, just ask Corbin, Mea." And he was gone, with only a few wisps of smoke left to remind her that he had existed at all.


	3. Chapter 3: The Garden

Thank you to all reviews! they really keep me going! I was really excited for this chapter, but please let me know if anything feel rushed, along with mistakes. I love reviews so much!

. . .

She wandered the halls slowly, letting her hand trail over the walls. As excited as she was to have her questions answered, she felt her mind roam back to her parents and the family she had left behind. They would probably have given up the search for her by now—after all, the children weren't supposed to have been in the woods at all, and everyone knew that when you were lost in the woods, you probably wouldn't come back. But she had to be here. Here was where her questions would be answered. But after the conversation she had had with the great lord, she was less convinced of her purpose, and of her control over the situation. After all, he only had to touch her with one finger for her to completely melt into a puddle… and those eyes… No. She would not think about it any longer. Persephone forced herself to think about the questions she would ask him when he got home, and she made herself believe that she would be firm, and stick to her purpose. After all, she wasn't here to fall in love.

She had run into the servant—Corbin—twice on her trip through the castle, and so far had said nothing to her, and she nothing to him. She found that the ripped black flag appeared to be that of the god himself, because it was everywhere. The castle itself had not been very interesting to her—it had just been a lot of really bleak artwork and black carpeting. But when she opened the double doors that she had thought led to a courtyard, she felt her jaw drop. It was a garden—a wondrous, awe-inspiring garden. She just looked around it for a while, because it seemed almost like invading a sacred ground to set foot in it. The garden was paved in cobblestone, and on all sides there were more flowers and trees than she could name. She could see, though, Aconite—the purple flower that the commoners called Wolf-bane—and several almond trees, cherry trees, cypress, elm trees, fig trees, and juniper, along with what looked like a field of poppy. There were also lilies growing everywhere, and she noticed a few poisonous plants hiding with the flowers. The whole of the garden sloped upward on a gentle hill, and at the crest of it, were several small trees, bearing some sort of fruit that she had never seen before. There was a space around the trees, as if nothing else could stand to live next to their loveliness. Persephone took a deep breath, and crossed the threshold into the garden.

There came a low "haaaaa" as if someone had sighed as she stepped forward, and for a moment she paused, before continuing. Glancing up, she saw that there was no sky here, only endless black, with no stars. _It is as if it is night,_ she thought. _Black as night, with no stars or moon_. She focused her attention back on the garden, and walked forward into the hushed stillness. She felt a prickling on the back of her neck, as if someone was watching her, and could hear a faint rustling, but when she turned there was no one. Trying to ignore that most peculiar feeling, she continued through the garden, realizing after a time that it was rather like a maze, whose goal was not to ensnare or confuse, but to enchant and calm. She felt her worries began to drift away, but not completely. It felt more like they were not important anymore, and that she was safe here, in this beautiful place. Eventually she made her way to that place she had been ignoring—the group of trees at the top of the hill. They seemed to beckon her, drawing her forward with their beauty. When she reached them, she fingered the leaves, and touched the trunk… and heard more rustling. Turning around, she realized exactly what she had heard. The plants had followed her. No, they had not uprooted or anything like that, but their leaves, and the faces of the flowers, had turned towards her as she passed, and appeared to be looking at her, or at least leaning in to her. She felt a shiver go down her back, because she had never experienced this before, but she did not feel afraid. She got the sense that the plants did not want to hurt her, and that they were merely curious about her presence. Turning back to the trees, she immediately felt them call to her once more. It seemed almost as though they were whispering things to her, and she leaned forward to hear what they were saying.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," a scratchy voice that sounded almost like a hiss whispered to her. Turning, she saw the servant who had brought the message to the god earlier standing a little ways away.

She backed off. "Why? Would the Lord be angry with me for being here? Because he said that I could go anywhere within the castle grounds."

"No, he wouldn't be angry," chuckled the man, "but—" he stopped suddenly, and his glance drifted off into the distance, as if he were listening to something. In a moment, he blinked, and continued, "My Lord says that you aren't ready to know yet, but to tell you that it would not be a good thing for you to be near the trees. And he would like to affirm that it is alright for you to be in the garden, as long as you stay away from the trees, and know what the poisonous plants are. Do you know what the poisonous plants are?" he asked. She nodded. "Good. I'll leave you then."

"Sir!" she called after him.

He stopped. "There is really no need to call me 'sir' miss. You may call me 'Corbin.'"

"Well, Corbin," she said, "where is the Lord?"

"I…well…" Corbin looked distinctly more uncomfortable than a moment ago. "I really don't think I should say…"

"It's alright, I was just wondering. Thank you!" she said cheerily, and he nodded and left, still looking a bit confused.

She stayed in the garden until her feet hurt, and then she went back inside. She felt like she had aged, out there in the garden, and it was a strange feeling; to look the same but feel older. She continued wandering the castle, but found no mysteries or hidden chambers or any of the other exciting things that she had heard and read about, and so grew bored very quickly. So bored, in fact, that she decided to actually seek out another awkward conversation with Corbin. She was just starting her search for him when another pair of double doors that had been locked when she tried them flew open. She could just see a short staircase leading down to what looked like a river when they slammed shut again. She knew immediately who it was by the mist that followed him, but it was still a bit of a shock to see him storm under up the stair she had been climbing, completely ignore her, head left and slam another door shut behind him.

She blinked. Well. In a moment Corbin came rushing up the stairs, carrying a tray with a silver teapot and cup. She held out an arm to stop him. "I'll take that," she said.

Corbin frowned. "No offense, miss, but I don't really think that's such a good idea—"

"I'll take it." She held out her hands for him to hand her the tray.

"Miss, he gets really angry whenever he returns from…where he goes. And I really don't think that—" she grabbed the tray impatiently from him and finished climbing the stairs. He followed close behind, wringing his hands and muttering; "I really don't think this is a good idea," "what will the master do?" "Oh dear." She crossed the hallway to the left just as she had seen the god do, and knocked on the door he had slammed shut. As she rapped, Corbin disappeared into the shadows, apparently afraid to even be seen with her.

"Come in, Corbin." She balanced the tray against her waist and opened the heavy wooden door slowly. She was in a large dark room, lit only with a small fireplace directly in front of her. To the right was a large bed, with some kind of white vine crawling up its post, and in front of the fireplace, facing away from her, was a large armchair and a small table. Her breath almost stopped as she realized that this must be his bedroom, but continued forward and laid his tray down on the table. Risking a glance at his face, she saw that his eyes were closed, and he was rubbing his forehead with his fingers. She started to back away, and jumped as his right hand caught her wrist.

"Poor Corbin must have been scared stiff, when you took this from him," he said, his voice lower than usual. She swallowed drily, waiting him to release her arm, where she could feel an icy cold begin to spread though her body. He didn't. "Well, girl, if you insist upon taking away the duty of my servant, then you might as well finish the job," he slowly slid his hand away from hers, and she blinked. "Pour the tea, Princess." He drawled, and she got to work, blushing at her stupidity. She handed his cup to him, and was about to leave when he grunted, "oh no. You want to be here, you will be here. Pull up a chair." He waved his hand, and some of the mist by him wove together to create another black chair for herself. She sat nervously, playing with her fingers. "And some tea," another wave, and a teacup appeared in the air in front of her. She took it, trying to stop the trembling of her fingers, and poured some more tea for herself. After that they sat in silence, he obviously trying to forget whatever had just happened, and she trying not to attract attention to herself.

Eventually, she worked up the courage to say, "Where were you today?" She knew that her voice was not more than a hushed whisper, and cleared her throat, trying to pass off her nervousness as something it was not.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at her. "Do you really want to know?" she nodded. "I was meeting with a few of the other gods."

She sucked in an excited breath. "On Olympus?"

"NO, you foolish girl," he nearly snarled before regaining his composure, "in an in-between place. I am not allowed on Olympus. Do you not know the histories?"

She felt another blush creep up her cheeks from his outburst, and stammered ashamedly, "n-no. My parents always tried to shelter me from the myths—I mean, from the histories."

"How then, did you know of me? How did you know how to call me?" his voice had grown quiet again, but it was softer, and she knew somehow that he was more interested than angry.

"Well, my friends did follow the traditions, and we used to…well..."

"Go on," he said, and she could see an amused twinkle in his eyes. He knew exactly what she was going to say, and he was making her say it anyway.

"Well… we used to play games where we would pretend we were the gods. There. I said it." It was the first time she had felt well and truly afraid, but he just gave a dark chuckle. With the chuckle, she noticed that the mists receded a bit, and the room grew a bit warmer. Interesting.

"And which god would you pretend to be, Mea?"

"I-I would always pretend to be a nymph, actually," she said.

"How delightfully accurate," the mists receded even more, and she felt a small smile start to show on her face, the first since she had entered his realm.

"But, Lord Death—"

"Do not call me that. There is no need for you to call me that. You may call me Hades, and that is all. Unless you have another name you would like to call me?"

She could think of a few names, but decided to keep that information to herself. "Very well. Hades," she couldn't help but grow a little quieter as she said it, and she noticed just the faintest softening of his posture. "Why won't you call me by my name?"

"I thought I wasn't going to tell you that information, little Flora," he said.

She scrunched up her nose. "I am not plants. I am Persephone. Why won't you call me by my name? I demand to know." His face didn't change, except for the slightest curve of his mouth into a smile, but the mists swelled a little, curling around her, and she knew she must have pushed it a little. After all, who was she to demand anything from him?

"Very well. If I say your real name, you will be sent back to the surface. If you really want me to though, I will, Perse—" without even thinking about it, she brought a hand up and over his mouth, stopping him. Once she realized what she had done, she started to bring her hand away, but his own pale hands reached up to hold her there. Slowly, and never breaking eye contact with her, he gently kissed her palm, and then each of her fingers. She stopped breathing, losing herself completely in his dark eyes. He rubbed her hand in between the two of his, and though he was cold, there was a comfort in being there, and she felt herself longing to be closer to him than she was. But he blinked again, and the moment was over. She realized that they had both been leaning in to each other, and pulled back. He dropped her hand, and cleared his throat. "You- you may go." He said, and she slowly stood and walked out. But she didn't miss the way his dark eyes followed her, or the way he had let go of the breath he had been holding just as she had.


	4. Chapter 4: The River

Persephone groaned into her pillow. What was she doing, wasting her time? He wasn't going to answer any of her questions. Why was he even keeping her there, when he could easily get rid of her? She realized with a chill, that when he said she couldn't go outside the castle, he meant that she couldn't leave at all. Of course, she had known that before, but it really only hit her now, that even though she wanted to be there, she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She shook off those feelings with a sigh, and sat up. It was morning again (or at least she assumed it was morning, since she had slept for a long time), and she was going to ask him today.

She felt like she resolved to ask him her questions every day, and yet, whenever she got close enough to talk to him, her brain ceased to function. She stood, pulling her hair back. Corbin had showed her to the baths that night, and she had taken the longest and most luxurious bath in her entire existence there. Her hair was silky and smooth with the oils she had found in those baths, and it felt so good to be clean again. This time. This time, she would get her answers. Or at least, she would learn more about him.

She headed the stairs and to his room again, but when she knocked, there was no answer. Slowly, she turned the iron knob and pushed it open. Stepping into the dark room, she glanced around for him, praying he wouldn't be there to see her snooping. He wasn't. She walked to the left, where a large desk sat. Strange, she hadn't noticed that before. She wandered over to it, eyes darting all over the room, feeling as though Hades was about to pop out of the fireplace or something. When she reached the desk, the first thing she noticed was a long black quill, and couldn't even imagine how large the bird that he had gotten it from must have been. Under the quill, a sealed letter sat, and while her curiosity was almost killing her, she was not brave—or foolish—enough to break a seal letter written by the Lord of Death himself. Slowly, she opened the first drawer in the desk, but let out a puff of air in confusion. It was empty. The dark, rich wood was almost deceivingly beautiful, so Persephone reached in and felt around, but it was totally empty, and she could feel nothing that might suggest a hidden compartment. Opening all the other drawers, she saw that they were all just as empty as the first. Frustrated by the lack of answers that the desk provided, she shut all the drawers again carefully and turned to leave. After shutting the door gently behind her, she started down the stairs again.

She was so bored. She had been to the garden again, explored the castle… twice, and bothered Corbin for no reason, and it had only been two hours. She was in the garden now, sitting on the ground under the strange group of trees she had found and looking around at the plants. They were still leaning slightly towards her, and she thought she could hear their whispers in the back of her mind. She cupped her face in her hand, and blew a piece of soft hair out of her face. She had looked all over the castle, but Death—er, Hades—must've been on one of his really important trips again. She touched the stones beneath her, and was surprised to feel that they held warmth. She must not have noticed when she had sat down, but now she saw that each and every stone was warm—not a fiery hot warmth, but a gentle, soothing warmth. She looked around, hair falling back from her shoulders, and wondered again how the trees and plants could possibly survive down here without sunlight.

. . .

Hades chuckled from his place in the shadows. Of course he had seen her sneak into his study. Of course he had watched as she wandered aimlessly around the castle, and pestered Corbin endlessly. He couldn't really explain his desire to see what she would do without him there, but he was highly entertained by what she managed to do to entertain herself. Truth be told, he was rather impressed by how she shamelessly tried to invade his private study… even if she was being stupid. Only he could see the content of his desk. It had been relatively mindless of him to forget that letter on the top of the desk, but she had not tried to open it, and he was glad. He would have had to intervene, and he quite liked watching her. He even shocked himself by the lack of anger he felt, actually. In fact, he was quite charmed by how beautiful her eyes were, when she wasn't looking at the ground. But now he sat in the shadow—as the shadows, really—and watched her, to see what she would do next.

. . .

Persephone sat on the stones for a few more minutes, before deciding that enough was enough. If Hades was going to waste her time, then she was just going to have to find the answers she sought herself. She got to her feet, brushing her long hair over one shoulder and clenching her fists. She would do it. She strode through the double doors and across the hall, through several more small hallways and to the doors that she had seen Hades come through the other day. She expected them to be locked, but when she tried them, the handles turned easily. Hades must have forgotten to lock them when he went out.

. . .

What was she doing? Hades inched his shadows further along the floor, flicking his wrist to allow the girl access to the outside. He felt a steady pool of anger boiling in his stomach, but it was more at the fact that she could hurt herself on the outside than anything else. He wondered vaguely why, then, he was letting her out. He supposed it was simply to humor her. As she stepped through the door, he let his shadows flow through the cracks in the door and out the other side.

. . .

Taking a deep breath, she stepped through. It was even dimmer out here than it had been in Hades room, but there were lanterns in the wall on either side of her, and she could see faintly a small staircase leading down to a river. As her eyes adjusted (which happened fairly quickly, given that she had already been in the darkness for a while) a small boat came into view, and it became obvious that there was more to the river than she had thought. There was a small bank on her side, and as she squinted into the distance, she saw that the river was endlessly wide; fading into black mists not unlike the ones that surrounded Hades when he was angry or frustrated. She took a small step forward, and then started down the stairs. She knew, of course that this must be the River Styx, and that she must be careful.

. . .

Hades felt very unsettled. The girl was completely disobeying him without a second thought! Admittedly, she was strong—he expected that most would have fainted at the very sight of the River, and yet she was continuing on! This act of strength disturbed him, but he followed her onward, wondering what she could possibly do next.

. . .

She finished her slow descent down the stone stairs, and decided to go left down the bank of the river. Glancing up, she saw the walls of the castle crawl endlessly upward, and she knew that there must be much more to the castle than Hades was letting her see… which made her angry. Huffing a little, she inched her way forward, hoping to see _something_, perhaps a dead relative, come to give her advice, or some legend, there to tell her how to leave the place.

. . .

He cautiously followed her, growing angrier by the minute. This girl was going to get herself killed—and how would he explain that to his fellows! He still let her go on, if only out of curiosity. There was nothing for her to see here. He noticed, in his place behind her, that the dead, cracked grass of the bank sprouted up where her feet had touched it, looking healthy and green as it could be. He chuckled to himself. How could she possibly not know what she was? He supposed that whomever her mother had chosen to raise her had done the job quite well, for her to be so sheltered.

. . .

Persephone grew less cautious as she went on. The bank seemed quite sturdy, and Hades had not shown up yet. The fear in her heart began to quiet a little. The river was ink black, although that could have just been the darkness of the mists, and it flowed slowly and smoothly, with no rocks to bubble over or boats to curl around. It was actually quite eerie, how the water flowed with no beginning, end, or interruption. She walked onward.

. . .

He knew he should stop her. He really, really did. But as he watched her, he just couldn't help but let her roam where she would.

. . .

She started to go a little faster, feeling a bit panicked. Where could she possibly go? She had to have walked for some time, and yet she could see nothing—no bend, no narrow spot, no shallow area for her to cross. And she didn't see _anyone, _dead or alive. She was starting to wish Hades would show up.

. . .

He watched her pace grow faster and faster, but felt powerless to stop it. Which was ridiculous. He had never felt powerless in his life. Why did she affect him so? It wasn't as if she was special. Well, not _extremely_ special. She _was_ very beautiful… but that shouldn't matter! He could have his pick of any girl… and yet, this one fascinated him. Perhaps because of his lack of fear, which had piqued his interest from the very start. Distracted by his thoughts, he didn't see what had been happening to her until it was too late, and she was already falling.

. . .

She gave a shattered gasp as the bank gave way beneath her, and she slipped into the river. It overwhelmed her, soaking through to her very veins, and then it _burned._ She tried to scream, but the stinging water filled her mouth, and the last thing she heard as she sank beneath the inky current was a gasped, "_Persephone!"_


	5. Chapter 5: The Facts

Hey guys! Thank you again sooo much for the great reviews, follows and favs! They really do keep me going! I am going to try and publish weekly from here on out, but it could be difficult, seeing as I am in quite a few tough classes this year. Thank you for reading, and I hope you like this chapter!

. . .

"Unngggh."

"Ah. You're awake. Finally, might I add."

"Wh-where am I" Persephone tried to sit up, but was pushed back down by strong hands.

"Back in the castle. In my bed, actually."

"What?! That is so inappropriate! I have to go—"

"You aren't going anywhere. Now just lie back and relax. I'm not going to ravish you… at least, not right now."

She lay back in the pillows, proud of the way she didn't even turn pink at his words, and feeling a sudden rush in the head as a wave of soreness hit her. "I… remember falling into the river… and—you said my name! Why am I still here?" She tried to sit up once again, gesturing wildly with her hands. Hades caught them in his own, and raised a dark eyebrow.

"Lie. Down. Now." She did. "If you stay quiet, I will tell you what happened," he waited for her to nod before he continued. "You are here today because you are very lucky. And because I am—er—all knowing, and was there to save you. Do you know what could have happened? Do you _know_ the legends?"

"I already told you—"

"And I already told you to be quiet. The question was rhetorical. The River Styx. It is everything bad about the world, and yet, it is worshipped by those who see its properties. It is depression, anger, and loneliness, among other things. It is all of the emotions that human beings shy away from. It is feared by most mortals, with the exception of a few who even saw fit to use its gifts. Yes, gifts. Because those who can use the river can do so because of a very important thing. They see that those qualities and emotions that make up the river are a part of every human being. And once a person accepts the darkness within themselves, they are open to even more goodness and light.

"But aside from that. You foolishly ran along the banks of the infamous River Styx, without a second thought to your safety. You were foolish—thoughtless even— and it nearly cost m—you your life. Do you know what happened when you fell into the River?" She shook her head slowly, and he clasped his hands in front of his face, a weak gesture that she would never have thought she would see him do. "The emotions—all the raw components that make up the river began to overwhelm you. They burned you to your very core, because they were steadily wiping out everything else. This is why Achilles, for instance, was nearly immortal after being dipped in the river. Where his mother held him all mortal feeling and emotion remained, and everywhere else he became invincible. Think about it. He was unable to feel pain, because he couldn't be wounded. He didn't feel sadness, but he was excellent in battle. Really, he became the perfect soldier. But you, Mea," Hades' voice grew very soft, and he gripped her hands harder (she hadn't even noticed that he was still holding them), "You didn't have a mother gripping your ankle. You didn't have someone looking out for you." Was that guilt in his eyes? "And because of that the river would have wiped out everything that made you... you. It would have literally torn you apart, body and soul, and killed you."

Persephone's felt herself begin to get lost in his eyes again, and cleared her throat. "Alright. I'm really glad I survived," her brow crinkled, "but there are four things I'm still confused about. One, how am I still here if you called me by my name. Two, how did you know where I was to rescue me—and don't think I buy that whole 'I am all knowing' thing. You are a terrible liar, honestly. I expected better from a god. Three, how did you save me. And four, why do you call me Mea most of the time? I mean specifically. I know why you don't call me Persephone."

Hades chuckled. "How am I ever going to remember all that? Well, the answers to all of your questions are… complicated. To the first, the simple answer is that you are still here because you were nearly dead. Some of the rules of the gods do not apply in some instances. And… I called in a favor. You wouldn't have survived if you had been returned to the surface. Remember those trees in the garden? The strange ones that you had never seen before? Well, their seeds have healing properties among the gods. I carried you to the garden and made you swallow three of them. It had to be three, you see. Three is a very powerful number. And I am not going to tell you why I call you Mea just yet."

Persephone nodded distractedly, but she hadn't missed how he skipped over how he knew where she was, or how his eyes had grown shifty and guilty when he spoke of how he had used the seeds to save her. "There's something you're not telling me," she said. "And you didn't answer my second question. Wait a minute… you were spying on me, weren't you?" When he didn't reply, she knew she was right. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised, but I am flattered, in a sort of scary way. What else didn't you tell me?"

He cleared his throat, leaning away from her. "Well… umm… See…"

"Just tell me. I promise I won't be angry," she said, raising her eyebrows.

He shook his head. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Mea. Alright. You have to understand that if I hadn't given you the seeds, you wouldn't have made it. Your body and soul would have been consumed. So I had to." He cleared his throat. "Very well. The seeds—the tree—are tied into my realm. Their roots go deep into the earth, and they drink from the River. Because of this, when I gave them to you, while they expelled the poison of the River from your body, they tied you to my realm…"

"Aaand?" she had a bad feeling she knew where this was going.

"This is a part of you now, Mea. You can… you can never leave my world again. Not ever."

Persephone felt her breathing stop; felt the color drain from her face; felt her eyes go wide. She covered her face with her hands and brought her knees up to curl into a ball. She would not cry. She could deal with this. No problem. She would be fine. She felt a tear leak from her eye, and flinched when his cold hand reached up to wipe it away. "Don't TOUCH ME!" She cried, holding her hands up. She felt a pang somewhere deep inside her when he recoiled from her shout, his mists boiling up again, but she couldn't help it. She needed time to process this. She just needed time. Oh gods… she could never leave. Sure, she had wanted to come down to this Hell, but… to never leave! She focused on the room again, and saw that Hades had walked away from her bed, and was leaning on the fireplace, looking away from her. All at once she felt her anger and fear dissipate, looking at his defeated form. She could tell that she had hurt him, perhaps more than he had hurt her.

She cleared her throat, and he turned his head to look at her, green flame reflecting in his black eyes. She gestured for him to come over to her, and he did, albeit cautiously. She took a deep breath. "You know, now that I've thought about it, it might not be so bad." She shrugged her shoulders, allowing a small smile at his wide eyes. "After all, I would have come down here someday anyway," she noticed his eyes grow shifty again, "and don't think I won't ask you about that later. But—" before she could say another word, Hades had leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. In that instant the world faded to grey. She felt the life begin to leave her, and yet she had never felt so vibrant. She reached up and put her arms around his neck, and he leaned in closer to her, one hand in her hair and the other around her waist. She sighed into his mouth, feeling as if they could stay that way forever. But in another moment, Hades had leaned back, all control restored to his face. Persephone could feel a blush spreading across her neck, and she licked her lips, tasting him for the first time. He tasted just like he smelled—like cinnamon and some kind of fruit, and something else. Something more subtle. She pressed her fingers to her lips, and smiled softly.

Hades, on the other hand, looked as if he was fighting some kind of inner demons. He had stumbled away from her, and his hands were clenched into fists. The mists were swelling around him, growing and thickening until she could hardly see him.

She stood, and took a few cautious steps toward him, fighting off a wave of dizziness as she did. He did not seem to notice her, so she took a few steps forward. Gathering her courage, she said; "Stop!" Hades' eyes flew to meet hers, and the mists receded a bit. She came closer. "Don't do this to yourself; don't feel guilty about this. I wanted to just as much as you did, and there is nothing wrong with the feelings we have." She took another step, which brought her right up to him. She tilted her head up and laid a gentle kiss on his cheek.

He leaned into her kiss, before stepping away from her. "Believe me, Mea," He stepped backward toward the door, pulling his mists away from her, "I wish that there was nothing wrong with the way I feel. But I'm afraid, Princess. And that very fact alone scares me, because I have never been afraid before."


	6. Chapter 6: The Fields

YAY! A long chapter! I DON'T OWN GREEK MYTHOLOGY! Thank you so much for the review, ideas, suggestions, questions and critiques! I love you!

. . .

"Miss, I really don't think you should be doing this."

"Corbin?" She asked sweetly.

Corbin looked at her.

"Would you please, just stop taking everything so seriously?" She raised an eyebrow, and put the full effect of her glare to use.

Corbin cleared his throat. "It's just that, when he goes in his study, he really doesn't want to see anyone. And as much as your relationship might have changed recently, I don't think he wants you in there."

She winced. "That was a low blow, Corbin. But I have to get in there. It's been three days since I've seen him, and he didn't exactly leave me in a secure place. I still have a lot of unanswered questions. And for your information, our relationship has not changed." She could feel her voice grow a bit wistful at her words, and she hated the pitying look in the skeletal servant's eyes.

"I'm sorry, miss. You're right. Follow me." Corbin led her up the stairs, but this time, he stopped in front of a space in the wall. He flicked his wrist, and with the sound of nails on chalkboard, a black door formed in it. The black rock handle was the last thing to form, and Corbin let out a deep breath. "Alright miss. But you must know something. He might try to contain himself today, so you might not need to face it. But sometime in the future, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next month, he will _snap _at you. You need to know that he does not mean it. When he is in the study, he is a different person." He stared deeply into her eyes, and she nodded slowly. Then he gave a return nod and walked away, leaving her alone.

She faced the door. Took a deep breath. Balled up her hands. Unballed her hands. Tapped her foot. Then she decided that she would just do it. And she gripped the door knob for a while. She let out a huff of frustration.

Suddenly, the door swung open. She blinked into complete darkness.

"Well," his voice drawled, "come in. Your fear annoys me." She crossed the threshold, wincing a little when the door slammed shut behind her. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she ran a hand through her brown mane, trying to calm her nerves. She felt the empty air in front of her, gasping a little when his hands caught hers and pulled her roughly to him. He brought her hands up to his chest. "How does it feel," he said flatly, "not to be able to see in the dark?" His grip on her hands was like iron—or ice.

She just shook her head.

"But then, that's one of the many differences between us." He pulled away from her, leaving her blind in the dark once more. She left her hands hanging where he had left her, feeling her heart speed up at the sudden emptiness. "You are light, I am dark," he said from somewhere in the room. She spun around, trying to find him. "You are joy, I am sorrow." Somewhere else in the room. "You are Life, and I," he gave a dark chuckle. "I am Death itself." Her hands finally touched his chest, and she gasped. "And there is nothing… Nothing, that you can do about it." In a contradicting gesture, he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently.

Persephone frowned, shaking her head. "Why?" She heard Hades give a little sigh.

"Why _what_, Mea?"

"Why are you doing this? You don't need to push me away. And it's not going to work." She stepped close to him in the darkness, raising her arms to put them around his neck and laying her head on his chest. Slowly, and haltingly, he brought his arms up, one around her waist, the other resting in her hair. She could feel him relax, his body sagging slightly.

"I'm sorry, Mea," he sighed, resting his head in her hair. "My colleagues didn't take lightly to the situation with the River. And they don't even know about-about-about whatever this is!" He pulled away from her again, and she felt her heart go out to him. But she felt confusion too.

"I just don't understand. Why do they care what happens to me? I'm just a mortal. I'm nothing." In a moment, he was upon her again, pulling her flush against him.

"You are _not_ _nothing._" He cradled her face in his hands. "You can't be. No mortal has ever made me feel anything before, let alone what you make me feel."

She could feel herself blushing, and knew he could feel it under his fingers. She instinctively looked away from where she could feel his intense stare.

"Why do you do that?" he said, taking her chin and bringing her face up. She heard him snap his fingers, and a small light, the size of a candle flame, appeared at eye level next to them. It was just enough light to see the shadows of his face.

"Do what?"

"Look away from me." Even as he said it, she could feel her eyes drift to towards the floor once more. He made a little noise of frustration.

"Because," she said. He just raised his eyebrows. "Look. You have your secrets, I have mine. When you talk, I'll talk."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "Seems fair. It's a deal. Now, why did you come here tonight? It wasn't just to comfort me in my time of sadness." He rolled his eyes.

"Well, that was only part of it." She licked her lips, watching his eyes flicker to them when she did. "I also wanted to get out of this ridiculous cage."

He raised his eyebrows. "I rather thought it was castle."

"A gilded cage then," she rolled her eyes. "A cage nonetheless. I want to see what makes you sad. And don't tell me that no mortal has ever made you feel anything, because you are tortured inside, and that doesn't happen from a lack of caring. I want to see what makes you you. I want you to take me with you."

He stood silently for a moment, considering. His eyes searched her face for some hesitance, but they met only resolve. He cupped her cheek in his hand, and leaned in so their foreheads were pressed together.

"Don't let go of my hand." He wove their fingers together, and she felt her heart pound in excitement as his mists began to sigh up around them, twisting and thickening until she could no longer see anything.

There was a noise like a sigh once more, and the mists receded. They were standing on a small boat, in the River. The castle loomed up next to them, the steps looking just as hap hazardous as ever.

She let out an excited giggle and tried to pull away from him, but he just clenched her fingers harder. "I'm not letting anything happen to you again. Ever."

She swallowed and squeezed his fingers back. "Alright then."

The boat began to move along the river, but the surface of the water didn't change at all. Soon shapes began to materialize in the distance, and as they rode on she began to see the features of the Underworld. To the left were the fields that everyone talked about so often, with millions of milky white shapes milling about. She frowned at the sight.

"Don't they feel boredom?"

"Perhaps," Hades looked at her funnily, "but I never thought to ask them." The boat moved along. To the right was Elysium. It was impossibly beautiful. It was a field, just like Asphodel, but it glimmered with a happiness that she had not felt there. She stared at the figures that stood there. They were all smiling, and running and laughing and happy.

"What do they have to be so happy about?" she asked.

Hades just shrugged again. They moved on. When Persephone looked behind her, she could no longer see the castle. Which was impossible. After all, they hadn't gone very far, had they? Or… had they? She shook her head and looked forward again. She noticed that the boat was moving faster now, and more things materialized on either side of her.

A forest of pale white trees stood, dead limbs reaching up into the night.

A pack of black wolves, lithe bodies twisting through the night.

Scorched earth, miles of cracks and crevices stretching into the darkness.

Strange…_things_ flying in the sky, screeching and wailing and swooping in the horizon.

As they went on, things grew more and more horrifying. Persephone found herself unable to look away, but wishing she could. Eventually Hades turned her head into his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"What are you doing?" She mumbled.

"You cannot see the Fields of Punishment. You have not been here for very long, and have not learned how to control your connection to this place. If I let you go, your soul would begin to yearn for death, and your tether to life would fray. The same thing would happen if you saw the Punishments. Just…don't look."

So she didn't look. But she did smell. Aside from his warm cinnamon scent, she could smell earth and ash, and feel the heat of whatever tortures were happening around her. Screams shattered the air, and Hades strong arms tightened around her. She clutched at his shirt, pressing her face into his chest—hard. She could hear his breathing, and it was strangely peaceful, amongst the sounds of destruction. It made him less invincible. It made him more a man.

After they passed the Fields of Punishment, he tapped her shoulder, and she opened her eyes. The river had grown wider, with them in the middle of it. There was now stone on the banks of the river, stretching out into the distance. Hades flicked his wrists and the boat moved to the side of the river. Hades helped Persephone out of it, since she was feeling a little weak in the knees. She could feel warmth from the stones through her sandals, just like in the garden.

"Why is it warm here?" she asked.

"Why not?" Hades turned away from her, and walked forward a bit, before promptly stopping and clearing his throat. "You might want to sit down, before you fall down."

She crinkled her brow. "But I'm not that shaky."

"Just trust me—" before he could say another word, an overwhelming WOOF rang through the air. Persephone almost ripped her hand out of Hades' trying to cover her ears. Then the earth began to shake. Persephone was thrown against Hades as the earth moved in time to the bounds of an enormous thing that leaped toward them. Before it could squish them, or eat them, or whatever it was that it wanted to do, Hades yelled, "SIT!" and it sat.

Persephone looked up nervously, and found herself staring into three pairs of eyes. Swallowing, she took a tentative step away from Hades, still holding his hand. "Th-this must be Cerberus," she said slowly. With an enormous whimper, the three-headed giant lowered its heads down to her eye level, and all six eyes blinked in unison. They studied each other for a few seconds, and then the middle head leaned in and sniffed her. It cocked its head, and then snuffled and nuzzled against her, nearly knocking her over again. She laughed lightly, scratching it behind the ears. The other heads knocked against the first, vying for her attention. She laughed some more as they threw her back into the arms of Hades.

He held out a stern finger. "Cerby, NO. Bad dog. Down." The dog…dogs whined some more and lay down in front of them.

"Really, Hades, it's quite alright," she giggled again, "they're adorable." The dog's tail wagged vigorously, thumping the ground and throwing them around some more. She blew a piece of hair out of her face.

"They like you. Which is quite rare; they usually don't like anyone." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. The mists had receded almost completely, and he looked more happy and relaxed than she had ever seen him. "You know a dog can judge whether or not he likes you within the first ten seconds of meeting you?"

She smiled. "What are their names?"

"Very funny, Mea."

"I'm serious."

"Um. I-I suppose I never thought about that before either. I just always called them all Cerberus, or Cerby."

"How about this. We'll name the middle one Cerby, the left one Berry, and the right one—"

"Russy?"

"No. Nemo. I've always liked the name Nemo."


	7. Chapter 7: The Prophecy

It's that time of the week again!

. . .

Thunder boomed like a thousand horses' feet in the distance, which was ridiculous, since they were in Hell. Hades glanced up, eyes hooded and dark once again. The mists swirled up around them, and Hades pulled Persephone closer to him. Cerby, Berry and Nemo all whined simultaneously, but backed away at Hades command. The mists closed enveloped them, and when they receded they were in the study once more.

"I have been summoned to meet my fellows," he said. He looked years older, his whole body sagging forward towards Persephone. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It's alright; it's going to be fine. You're going to be fine."

"No it's not," he said, pulling away from her. "They want to punish me for keeping you here. As if it's by choice! If I could, I would release you, but they don't see that! They choose to believe that I have kidnapped you, and forced you to eat the seeds of the Death Tree. They want to punish me," he repeated, chuckling to himself, "as if making me ruler of the dead and dying wasn't punishment enough!"

The mists started to swell up again, this time just around him.

Persephone cried out, "go then, but you have to promise me that we'll talk when you get back!"

"If I come back." He laughed out loud at that, until his laugh faded with the mists.

She sighed. Why did he always have to leave her before her questions were answered? She thought about searching his study, but decided that he was probably watching, since he had seen her little escapade out of the castle. So she opened the door to the study, and shut it firmly behind her. Corbin appeared out of the shadows, bowing slightly.

"Are you quite alright, Miss?"

"Yes, thank you Corbin. But I have some questions for you."

. . .

Hades was the last to arrive in the clearing. He showed no trace of the fear or exhaustion he had felt with Persephone, but he'd had thousands of years to practice. His fellows sat in their mighty chairs, and he sat in his own. At least he had been allowed to retain that shred of dignity.

"Hades," boomed Zeus, "you have been summoned before the council to discuss (once again) the fate of the girl."

"My girl," sobbed a beautiful middle-aged woman in one of the chairs. Artemis leaned over to rub Demeter's back, glaring at Hades.

He just shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said, "again. But there is simply nothing I can do. I had to feed her the seeds to save her. I thought that you all would have been slightly angrier if I had allowed her body and soul to be ripped to shreds."

"But now she has to stay with you!"

"Yes, but otherwise she would be dead! What is so hard for you to understand about this, Demeter? Besides, don't you all want her to find out who she is? That's why you kept her on Earth, isn't it? To keep her safe until she was old enough—"

"That's enough!" Zeus leaned toward Hades, staring him directly in the eye. "Swear on the River that you meant her no harm."

"Hmph. Very well. I so swear on the River Styx that any and all actions that I took with Persephone were performed with only her safety in mind."

"Alright," Zeus said, staring around the group. "That's good enough for me. Any of you want to challenge?" No one spoke, though a few did squirm in their seats. "Now then, is there any way for the girl to be able to come above ground again? Surely you must agree, Hades, that Hell is not the best place for her."

"No, Zeus," he said softly, "I do not."

"I believe that this is where I come in," Athena stood from her place near Zeus. "The girl has a strong attachment to you now Hades, does she not?"

Hades ignored a loud wail that suddenly burst out from the Demeter's direction, and cleared his throat. "Not… extremely. But I do believe that—ahem—there may be… a slight…erm… bond… of sorts."

"Alright," Athena walked to the center of the circle, pacing as she always did when she was forming a plan. "Well, when she fell into the River, it began to tear at her emotions, and then you healed her, and repaired those tears. One would assume that if you tore the bonds between the two of you, then she would no longer be connected to your place."

. . .

"Can you take me to the other parts of the castle?" Persephone put on her absolute best pleading face, and Corbin swallowed.

"I really don't think it's a good idea—"

"You never think anything is a good idea," she huffed, crossing her arms. Corbin just shrugged. "Fine. Can you at least answer some vague, completely safe questions about Hades then?"

"Only if they are appropriate, Miss."

"Honestly, Corbin, how well do you know me by now?" She beamed, and Corbin rolled his eyes. "Alright. What if Hades favorite plant in the garden? Aside from the trees, of course?"

"The Calla Lilies." Corbin looked at her strangely, as if this was the last thing he expected her to be asking.

"And what is his favorite color?"

Corbin just looked at her.

"Alright, I suppose I should have seen that one coming. What does he like to do for fun?"

Corbin just looked at her again.

"What? Are you trying to tell me that he honestly never has fun?"

"I have never known him to have any, Miss."

. . .

"But wouldn't that simply put her life in danger once again?" Hades pressed two fingers into his temple as he did when he was frustrated. Whatever Athena was concocting didn't sound good.

"Perhaps… but then, perhaps not. Because she has healed by now. If you tore the bonds between the two of you, then I would infer that her other emotions would have healed. And broken hearts heal."

"She could even join my hunters, once she learned of your betrayal," piped in Artemis.

Hades shook his head. "I _will not_ do that to her. I will not break her heart; after all she's been through already. After all that _I _have put her through already, under your orders. I will not do it."

"Then you keep her with you for selfish reasons," Poseidon said quietly.

"It is not selfish to want to protect her!" Hades said vehemently.

"Everyone out!" Zeus boomed. The gods blinked, confused, but no one wanted to be told twice to leave by the god of thunder. Soon it was just Poseidon, Hades, and the head god himself left in the large room.

"Brother," Poseidon said, eying Hades, "I recognize that look in your eye. I have seen it only one other time."

"Stop." Hades stated flatly.

"You know the dangers of falling in love," Zeus said, rubbing his chin. "Especially with the Forbidden Fruit, so to speak. You know how Demeter treasures her daughter. It would only do the human world harm to keep her with you."

"But there is a chance that breaking her heart wouldn't work, isn't there?" Hades said, trying to hide the hope in his eyes.

"Yees," Zeus said slowly, as if he wanted to keep the information to himself.

"Then shouldn't Demeter be happier knowing that her daughter was safe with me than in possible danger?"

"People don't think right when someone they love is taken from them," Poseidon said. "Demeter is half out of her mind with worry. And you cannot really blame her, Hades. You don't exactly have a wonderful reputation."

"But I have not harmed her in any way!" Hades clenched his fists.

"And I believe you. But to a mother, even a spark of attraction can be as bad as any physical act." Zeus turned around, not facing the other two.

. . .

"That's ridiculous. And why can't I access his desk?"

"You were in the Master's desk?" Poor Corbin looked about ready to faint.

"Only for a moment, and I didn't actually get to touch anything. The desk was empty!"

"And I told the master he would never use that spell—Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear oh dear."

"Aaaannyway, so, his royal Masterly-ness doesn't have free time, doesn't like actual colors, hides all his things, and is depressed all the time?"

"Well, that's partly true. He just hasn't had the best of luck in his life."

"Luck? He's a GOD!"

. . .

"Hades, I know of the suffering that you have undergone since the decision was made about who would rule what. And I am sorry for that. Truly."

Hades stared into Zeus' back, wondering where he could possibly be going.

"If you really want her, you may keep her with you for a while longer. But," he faced Hades once more. "I don't know how long Demeter is willing to wait. If we cannot find another solution soon, then breaking her heart may be your only option."

Hades nodded. "Thank you, brother. Thank you."

. . .

"Did he know about me before I came down here?" She had followed Corbin around the castle, trying to wheedle out information about the mysterious being with which she was now living.

"Miss, I really don't think—"

"Corbin, I swear on the Styx, just calm down. I'm not going to get angry, I'm not going to faint, I'm not going to leave (obviously), I just really don't understand why you can't tell me? I am not weak."

"I know you're not, Miss—"

"Stop calling me Miss. Hades calls me Mea, and I think—"

"With all due respect, Miss, I'm not calling you Mea," Corbin flushed a deep red, and straightened his jacket.

"Why not? No one tells me anything around here, and I am just about finished with it! Can't you tell me anything about _myself?_ Why am I here? Surely, if there are gods, then there is some form of higher plan."

Corbin sighed. "Yes, Miss, you are right. There is a plan, but it isn't made by the gods."

"What do you mean?" she asked softly, feeling somehow like she knew what he would say.

"I mean the Oracle of Delphi."

. . .

"My fellows," Zeus boomed. "I have given our brother time to think on his decision."

The Olympians remained silent, but it was quite obvious which ones supported the decision, and which ones…didn't. Hades remained silent on his throne, trying not to look at Demeter.

"With all due respect," Athena said. "How much time did you decide to give him?"

"Six months."

Another wail could be heard from the corner.

. . .

"Corbin, are you telling me that the Oracle is _here?_"

"No, Miss, I'm not trying to say that at all. Hades was given a prophecy long ago, but it was not intended for him. He had it engrained, and entrusted it to my safekeeping. I was to reveal it to the right person."

"…and you think that I am that person?"

"I don't know. But that is the tricky part about prophecies, Miss. You can never know what is right or wrong, truth or lie. It simply tells you a path that you _could_ take. I do not like to deal in Prophecy."

"Corbin. If this is truth, then you must tell me! It is my destiny!"

"You don't know that, and neither do I. Just, just leave it alone." Corbin was starting to look extremely uncomfortable.

"No. I will _not _leave it alone. I have to live here _forever! _I _won't _be kept in the dark forever. I won't. I swear, Corbin, I... I'll kill myself!"

Corbin sighed heavily again. "Very well, Miss. We can't have that. Follow me." He led her to another blank spot in the wall, and she let out an exasperated sigh as another door formed. Would she _ever_ learn all the secrets of this place? This door was made of wood, but the wood was impossibly old, and looked to be made of the same dead-looking trees that she had seen before. There was no handle, but when Corbin pressed his hand to the door, it fell open. He looked at her one last time, before stepping into the inky darkness and vanishing. She stood there for a few more moments, before following him.

This room was also dark, but Corbin was holding some sort of light. On closer inspection, Persephone realized that the light was something that he had actually made, and was just a small ball of fire that he held in his hand.

"Alright, Miss. Here we are."

Persephone raised her eyebrows, and Corbin sighed again. "Yes, Miss." He held out his right hand, and closed his eyes. In a moment, sound began to flow, untraceable and beautiful, but eerie and dark. It whispered in a scratchy voice that made Persephone want to hide somewhere warm.

"_In the darkness you must wait,  
While high above gods choose your fate  
Fear grows strong as hope will fall  
But will you choose to answer the call?  
He will not want to let you go  
But choice is yours; he'll be too slow._

_So Oracle declares this night  
The future queen must choose the right  
If in the wrong she chooses sides  
The world of gods will soon divide  
So Prophecy will now be set  
To stop a future lies beget  
And in the darkness wrong made right  
To stop a war of godly might."_

_. . . ._

YAY! ANOTHER LONG CHAPTER! WOOT! Please review, I would really like to know if you all like the direction that this story is going, and if you have any things on which you would like me to improve.


	8. Chapter 8: The Work

*I don't own Greek Mythology.

Hey guys! It's the weekend! aww yeah! I added a little bit more fluff to this chapter, along witht he beginning of perhaps... some answers? I hope you like! Pleasepleaseplease r/r!

EDIT: Also, I have been taking some crap over the fact that Hades is not in fact the personification of Death, but the King of the Underworld. Obviously, I am well aware of that fact. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am taking creative license with the story (can't you tell that the story is different from the classic tale?), so please don't judge the way I personify Death in my character, as I am simply putting my own twist on the story.  
END RANT.

. . . .

Hades staggered into his castle with a heavy heart. He let the mists guide and pull him up the stairs to his study, where he fell in to a chair and sighed. It was only then that he realized how quiet the castle was, and he spread out his mists to find her.

. . .

"Oh gods, oh godsohgods!" Persephone sat down on the ground and clutched at her hair.

"Miss, are you alright? Miss, please!" Corbin twitched frenetically, trying to comfort and quiet her at the same time. His skeletal hands trembled in midair, as if he knew Persephone needed comforting, but didn't know just how he could go about doing that.

"Yes, yes, I'll be fine. It's just… FUTURE QUEEN?! OH GODS! What am I supposed to do now?!"

"You wait. I told you, prophecies play themselves out. You have to wait, and act just as you have been, and try to find a way to move past the prophecy." Corbin spoke with a flatness that she hadn't heard in a while.

She looked up, and saw that two tendrils of mists had stretched and twisted up around Corbin. His stare went blank for a moment.

"I have been summoned. Try to keep your chin up, Miss." He turned and followed the mists inside.

Persephone stared at the ground, trying to think of what the prophecy would mean for her.

. . .

"Master…"

"I know, Corbin, I absolutely cannot let this come to pass. I just can't do that to her."

"I have never known you to shy away from a solution, Master."

"If you are insinuating that I am afraid, then you are sadly mistaken. I… I am never afraid. I merely worry for the girl's feelings."

"Everyone feels fear, my Lord. And do you mean to tell me that you do not worry for your own feelings as well? After what happened last time—"

"That will not happen again. I am not a brave man, Corbin, you know that. You are my oldest friend. I just don't want to give up so easily."

Corbin smiled softly. "Yes, I am your oldest friend. And that is how I know that you are much braver than you think you are, Hades. The girl knows that, even if you don't."

Hades scowled, and the mists rose up around him. "Ha! Bravery. How is it brave, to steal love from mortals? You know, there is a saying above us, that says that 'Death cannot stop Love.' Well, I have seen it do just that. Death is the ultimate breaker, the ultimate tragic ending, and the ultimate traitor. Everyone suffers Death, and no one can stop me. How, then, am I any more brave than those who suffer my deeds?" His voice grew sharper and louder as he spoke, until he yelled the last words and turned away from Corbin.

The servant sighed outwardly, but cursed the gods above for dealing his Master such a fate.

There came a knocking at the door. "Hades?" Persephone called.

Corbin and Hades looked at each other, before Hades nodded. Corbin walked to the door and opened it, before edging passed a startled Persephone and out of sight.

She entered slowly, ever mindful of the hot temper of the man in front of her. The door closed behind her, and he said, "sit," before weaving a chair out of darkness once more.

She sat, and looked at him, taking in how much sadder he looked after his meeting with the others. "What did they talk about, to make you so sad?" she asked.

He looked at her, before smiling a little. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

She just rolled her eyes. "I thought we were going to talk when you came back."

"I made no such promises," he said, smirking.

"Very well then, but don't expect me to talk either."

Hades nodded, sinking slowly back into the pit of his despair.

Persephone watched in silence, noticing the mists rise up and whisper around him and his sadness. His dark eyes went blank as he stared into nothing, but she could see clearly through this front, and she knew that his hands were clenched into fists.

"Will you show me what you do?" she asked.

He snapped back into awareness, before looking at her quizzically. "What do you mean? I already showed you my realm."

"I don't mean that. I mean what you do, up there."

He gave a broken sigh. "You know very well that I can't do that. You can't leave my realm, Mea, or have you forgotten already?"

"Don't insult me," she scoffed. "I just was thinking about it, and something occurred to me. I had to hold your hand so I wouldn't get lost in your realm, right?" she waited for him to nod, before continuing. "Well, it would make sense that when you are doing your work above ground, a part of your realm goes with you, since you are still doing the work of Hell. So wouldn't I technically still be 'in your realm' if I am connected to you?"

Hades listened patiently to her explanation, not showing a hint of emotion. When she was finished, he took your hand. "I think you might be right, Mea. But it could be dangerous."

"Better than sitting in the garden all day."

"You might not like what you see."

"What does that matter? It's what you do, I want to know it."

"Very well." He pulled her up to stand with him, and the mists wove up around them. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, pretending not to notice how his thumb rubbed against her hand.

When the mists receded, they were standing in a small room, lit only by a candle. At the end of the room, a small bed stood, surrounded by people of all ages. Persephone leaned forward a bit to get a closer look, but was held back by Hades. He shook his head when she looked at him, and pointed his slender fingers to the group of people. When she looked again, she saw that none of them were paying them any attention, and instead were focused on the person in the bed. It was an old woman, tucked into ragged blankets and breathing raggedly. Persephone felt her heart ache for the family, even though she knew that this was all normal and part of what was supposed to happen. As she watched, Hades flicked his wrist, and the mists crept forward. They slid up and over the bed; shadows moving to take a life. The family members kissed the old woman, and as they watched in silence, her eyes slipped closed, and the life went out of her with a sigh.

The mists ebbed, and a small white light bloomed in front of Hades and Persephone. It grew brighter and larger, and formed into a beautiful figure. She was young, with flowing black hair and brilliant green eyes, and she was still surrounded by the light. She looked to Hades, completely ignoring Persephone.

"Are you ready?" Hades asked in a low voice.

"I am," the woman said. "Will He be there?"

"If it is what you both wish, that is what you will see once you arrive."

The woman nodded, and Hades reached out. He closed her eyes with two fingers, and then he moved the mists around her. In a moment, she had faded.

Persephone had been focusing so much on the woman, she hadn't noticed the family at all. But now that she looked, she saw that they had placed two coins over the woman's closed eyes, and were pulling the coarse blanket up and over her face, as was custom. They comforted each other, sharing the loss of their matriarch. Hades turned to stare Persephone and he tightened his hold on her. His eyes blazed into hers, and she met his gaze with equal fire.

She would not back down from this.

He nodded, and the mists enveloped them again.

When the air was clear once more, she saw that they were on a battlefield. The air was cold and dead, with no breeze, and a morning frost had settled over the hills. But that was not what caught Persephone's attention. No, what made her jump was the astonishing amount of blood everywhere. She had seen blood before, of course, and she had seen death. And she had heard about war. But she had never seen so much death in her life… and it scared her. She slowly took in the many, many bodies, and as they watched, more of those silvery spirits rose up and formed people. Soon they were surrounded by at least two hundred souls.

The battlefield remained completely silent, but Persephone felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, and her skin gooseflesh. She leaned into Hades—she couldn't hide her emotion any longer. As she watched, Hades seemed to communicate with all of them at once; they all simultaneously closed their eyes, and faded.

They were left standing alone on the bloody battlefield, and she found herself positively clinging to Hades.

They had remained silent through the whole thing, but now he turned to her, and raised a hand to her face. "So you see," he whispered. "Why the god of Death hates War."

He ran his fingers over her lips, before the mists swallowed them again.

They saw many things, that day. People dying of sickness, childbirth, old age, war, murder, betrayal, love, suicide. Children, the elderly, women, men, parents, wives, brothers, sisters… it happened to everyone, and Hades did not choose his victims, as she once thought he did. It was exhausting and endless. And yet, there was a certain peace to it that Persephone could not deny.

"Everyone owes a single Death, Mea." He said softly, as they watched a mother and newborn die slowly, and painfully. "And I am always… paid my dues."

"Does everyone see you differently? Like in the stories?"

"No. Once you are dead, there are no more lies. Just your soul."

Once he had finished… or perhaps once he had made his point (since his job was never done), the mists transported him back into the darkness of the study. Persephone wrapped her arms around him and held him close, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't pull away. After a time, she broke their embrace, and squeezed his cold hand one last time, before leaving.

She went to her bedroom, and shut the door, sighing heavily. She knew that she needed to sleep, and so she got into her bed and tried to shut out the images of the day.

She tossed and turned, and only fell asleep once she thought of Hades, and his embrace.

. . .

"MEA!"

She jerked awake with a gasp, and felt strong arms around her. She was still shaking from the nightmare, and was in a cold sweat. She choked back a sob, leaning into the comforting form. He shushed her, gently rubbing her back and sighing.

"I knew showing you those things was a bad idea," Hades muttered, smoothing back her hair.

Persephone sniffed. "No, no, you were right to show me. It was something I needed to see. Thank you." She wiped at her eyes, and struggled to stop her shaking hands. He grasped them in his own, holding them tightly until they stopped their trembling.

"'Thank you' you say. _'Thank you,' _for giving you nightmares and haunting you. Sometimes, you amaze me." He was sitting behind her in the bed, his arms around her. She leaned further back into him, catching her breath.

Her nightmare had been of her death—but she was just alone... forever. Falling into the deep alone, for all eternity.

The thought of the dream alone made her shudder once more, and she turned to press her face to Hades' chest. "Why?" she said in her muffled voice.

He pulled her away from him a little to stare at her questioningly. "Why what?"

"Why me? You call me amazing, yet I am just a mortal. Just a weak human. Just someone whose debt you will have to collect someday, regardless of your feelings for me."

Hades groaned. "You make it so _hard_, Mea."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I am sworn into secrecy about some things, and you make keeping those secrets _extremely_ difficult. Just know that you are special."

It was easy to see that he was done talking about the subject, so she squirmed closer to him.

He pulled the blankets up and over them both, sighing deeply. "Well, anyway, I doubt whether you were ready to see the horrors of my work." His voice had grown quieter, his eyes closing tiredly. His sadness overwhelmed Persephone, and she felt the sudden need to distract him—to make him think of something else.

She reached up and pressed her hand to his cheek. "It's because of my eyes," she whispered.

Hades opened his and looked at her. "What?"

"The reason that I don't like meeting your eyes… or anyone's eyes, really. People always said they were ugly, so I just… didn't look."

Hades shook his head. He leaned in until their foreheads were pressed together. "Mea… do you want to know why I call you that?"

She smiled, and licked her lips nervously.

His eyes flashed to those lips quickly, before meeting her violet eyes again. "It means 'love.'"

Her breath caught in her throat as his voice grew huskier, and his hands moved to cup her face. She would not be daunted. "But… you started calling me that when I first came down here."

He chuckled. "I have watched you grow since you were… born." He chuckled softly at this for some unknown reason, before continuing. "I know you better than you think." He suddenly looked very nervous, and he had that open look in his eyes again. "I know you might not feel the same way, but—mpf!"

She crushed her lips to his, pressing him into the pillows. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her hands made their way into his hair, and he sucked on her lip gently, eliciting a soft moan.

He knew it was wrong; that he was just making an already terrible problem worse. He _knew._ But when he had heard her anguished cries earlier, and it nearly ripped out his heart (which had felt nothing for so long), he also knew that he couldn't resist any longer.

She could hardly think, but her distracted mind could tell just how _right _this felt. _This _was where she belonged—here, in his arms. And this was where she could stay, forever.

Somehow he had ended up on top of her, one hand supporting himself and the other in her hair. Panting slightly, he broke their kiss, and tried to ignore the mad racing of his heart. "We," he breathed. "We should stop. I don't want you to do anything you will regret."

She reached up and pressed her thumb to his mouth lovingly, but nodded. "You're right," she said. Noting the hurt that passed over his face, she lifted her head and pressed her lips to his gently, before continuing. "Not that I would regret anything; I just don't want to do anything before we're _both_ ready."

He smiled against her lips, and then he pulled away to leave.

She grabbed him. "Stay with me," she whispered. He nodded slowly, his dark gaze pulling her in and holding her fast. He got back into bed slowly, draping his arm over her waist. She turned her head to kiss him one last time, and then they drifted off into peaceful sleep.

Somehow the god of Death managed to drive away her fears better than even Hope could.

. . .

HA! ANOTHER LONG CHAPTER! I am just on a roll! Yay, I delivered on my fluff (I think). I'm actually quite proud of it. Things are going to start to get all spiced up in the next couple chapters. Let me know what you think guys! Advice/critique/comment/LOVE is always appreciated… especially the LOVE! I love you guys, and I hope you at least like my story! I hope that so far it is worth your time to read! Thanks!

PS: One of my friends took the mother/child dying seen as a thing against abortion, and I just want to say that I WAS NOT MAKING A POLITICAL STATEMENT TOWARD EITHER VIEW POINT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM! I was just trying to convey the complete horrifying tragedy in losing a newborn baby and its mother.

PPS: Please let me know if you see any completely unacceptable errors in this, and I will fix them. I lovelovelove feedback! Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9: The Thread

That time of the week! I don't own nor am I making any money off of this!

. . . . .

When she woke up, the first thing Persephone noticed was that her arm was asleep. The second thing she noticed was that she was on her side, pressed into Hades, and her arm was pinned underneath her. The third thing she noticed was that Hades was still asleep, as impossible as that seemed. She slowly, slowly moved her arm out from under her, adjusting into a more comfortable position. She held her breath until she had stilled, and sighed when he didn't stir. Looking closer at him, she could see just how tired he looked. There were bags under his eyes, and yet he looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him.

She reached up and gently brushed a piece of hair out of his face with her slender fingers, feeling a strange and all-encompassing warmth surge through her. She ghosted her fingers down his pale jaw, lifting her hand away when he mumbled softly in his sleep. Then she rested her hand on his chest, sighing quietly.

She had it bad.

Really bad.

She closed her eyes. Hades had begun to open up a little bit, but not enough. She needed answers…after all, that was why she was there, wasn't it? Answers? But somehow, answers had begun to seem less important as of late…

She thought about the prophecy. Perhaps Corbin was right, and she should never have listened to it in the first place. But she had, and mourning her decision wasn't going to change that fact that she had, in fact, listened, and now she had to do something about it. She let out a frustrated huff of air.

. . .

Hades sleepily blinked his eyes open, and sighed contentedly when he remembered how he had stayed that night, and how Persephone was pressed close to him. He looked down, where she was curled up against his side, with her brown hair fanned out behind her. He moved the arm she had been using as a pillow up to stroke her hair, and was not surprised when she opened those striking eyes and smiled up at him.

"Good morning," he said.

"Mmm, morning."

. . .

She smiled as he took her left hand in his right, and wove their fingers together.

"I do believe that was the best sleep I have had in… a long, long time," he said, his voice quiet and pensive.

"Me too." Persephone closed her eyes for a moment, only opening them when she felt him bring her hand to his lips.

She tugged her hand gently away from him. "So, you have shown me what makes you you. Now it's my turn." Sitting, she stretched and adjusted her robes before getting out of the bed. Hades looked at her for a moment before following.

She grabbed his hand, and started out the door and toward the garden. When she reached the entryway, she stopped, and squeezed Hades hand.

He let out a muted sigh. "Persephone, I have been here before."

"Not with me," she said strongly. With that she stepped across the threshold, and he followed her reluctantly.

. . .

For a moment, everything seemed normal and proper, as if there was nothing different or special about this garden. But as they walked forward, Hades noticed that the plants were responding to Persephone's presence. They turned their faces toward her, so slowly that if he hadn't been to his garden a hundred thousand times before, then he wouldn't have noticed.

It didn't seem to faze Persephone though, as she just strode to the center of the garden; the part that sloped up gently—the part where Hades had saved her with the seeds.

She sat down at the base of the three trees and sighed.

He stood for a moment, before following her. "So this is what you do?" He asked slowly.

"This is what I _used_ to do," she said. "Now, I am with you most of the time. And it's not what I did with the mortals… with the other mortals, I mean." How strange… she had almost forgotten that she was, in fact, mortal. She shook her head and smiled at Hades.

. . .

Hades tried to keep his face neutral, but he hadn't missed how she had referred to mortals as unlike herself… he shook off any thoughts about secrets and prophecies and gods. Today, he would just be with her.

. . .

They sat together for a long time, just holding hands and gazing at the garden. Eventually Hades began to sense the warmth in the ground that Persephone had felt since the beginning. When he felt it, he was amazed. How had he not felt it before? After all, he had cared for the garden since its creation—or at least, Corbin had cared for it.

The poisonous plants seemed particularly interested in Persephone. They tried their very hardest to get to her, some bowing nearly to the ground in their haste to find her. Now, to Persephone, this all seemed very strange. But to Hades, who knew the secrets, it was all so natural that he worried she would figure it out. So he stood, and pulled her up with him.

"So," he said. "What else do you do?"

. . .

She led him around the castle, up and down the stairs, asking him questions about its history and everything else she could think of. She even asked about an old locked door she had found before.

"Where does this lead?" She asked quietly.

Hades slipped his hand out of hers slowly, sighing. "Some things, Mea, I cannot reveal to you, even now. Some things are best left hidden away forever."

She cleared her throat. "You can't hide everything from me forever, Hades. And I know there are some things that you are hiding that are, in fact, about _me._ And that is unacceptable. I am not weak, Hades, and I will not be toyed with. I may have some…feelings for you, but I summoned you in the first place to get answers, and I _will_ get them, whether or not I get them from you." There. She had said it. The rest was up to him.

He stood silently for so long that she almost feared he would leave her, and return to his dark state, but he just sighed again. "You push me so hard, Persephone. To my very limits. I wish that I _could_ tell you, believe me. But it's not because of any fault of yours that I cannot give you the answers you desire. I am sworn into a bond with my fellows, and if I were to break that, the consequences for me would be… dire."

"You have successfully dodged my question, Hades, congratulations," she said flatly. "I accept whatever is behind this door that you don't want to tell me about. I _understand_ why you don't trust me yet. I do, believe me. But the fact that you won't even tell me about me? And don't try and pretend, I _know _you've been dodging my questions. And I have the right to know—"

"Very well."

"What?"

"I said very well."

"I understood you, I just…"

"Didn't think I would say yes? Well, Mea, the answer to that question I can see in your eyes is this: you have not kept anything from me. You have been completely honest with me, and I believe you deserve some honesty in return."

Persephone felt a twinge of guilt at this; after all, she hadn't exactly told him that she'd heard the Prophecy… perhaps it would best to just wait and see what he would tell her.

"I still can't tell you everything, but I can tell you a few things about yourself that could be helpful." He grasped her hand and led her up the stairs. They both stepped into the dark of his study, and Persephone shivered a little at a wave of cold that washed over her. It hadn't been like this last time. Hades apparently didn't want to stay in the darkness this time, however, because he waved his hand and created a light in the corner of the room.

Now that she could see, Persephone noted a small desk in the corner near the light, and a small chair to match it. But that was all. The rest of the room was empty; no decorations, nothing to make the room feel comfortable.

Hades walked over to his desk, opened a drawer—which Persephone noted was _not_ empty for him—and took out a small scroll.

"What does that say?" She asked.

He cleared his throat, but before he could read anything, he stopped.

Persephone stared at him for a moment, watching as his eyes glazed over and his fingers clenched the scroll tightly. "What's wrong?"

He jumped. "There… there is something wrong with my realm."

"You are being called away again?"

"No…" He pressed his fingers to his forehead in stress. "Something having to do with _only _my realm. I am so sorry to do this to you again, Mea, but I must go."

"How do you not know exactly what is going on if the problem is in your realm?"

"I am not omniscient, Mea. But that is a discussion for another time. I must go."

She let out a frustrated sigh, but nodded. "Go then. But we _will_ finish this later."

"Count on it." And he was gone yet again.

Persephone stood there for a while, trying to decide what she would do with her time. Then she noticed that the drawer that had been opened by Hades still stood open… and was not empty.

. . .

Hades reached the outer layer of his kingdom, where the Erinnyes swooped in the sky. When he stopped below them, they landed before him. He stood near the place of judgment, where the souls were meant to be carried.

"What is going on?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Massster," replied the first Fury, gnashing her sharp teeth. "The Ssssoulss are not being led."

"What do you mean, not being led?" Hades brow furrowed, and he glanced between the three ugly winged women.

"Hermesss isss not doing hiss duty," hissed the second Fury.

"Impossible. What does he have against me?" Though he had a terrible feeling that he knew.

. . .

Persephone cautiously made her way over to the desk, hardly daring to breathe at all. When she reached the open drawer, she looked inside, but did not dare to touch… yet.

. . .

Hades rushed directly into the halls of Judgment (something he never did) and up to the judges themselves.

"Rhadamanthus, Minos, Aeacus. What is the meaning of this?" There was no line to see the judges, for the first time in memory.

"We do not know, your Grace," replied Minos. "The dead just… stopped coming."

Hades turned around, watching the empty hall. He would get to the bottom of this.

. . .

Persephone could clearly see only three things in the drawer. A scroll, a small pin shaped like a raven, and what looked like a single piece of thread sitting on top of a brass tablet.

. . .

Hades felt the tug that meant his fellows were calling him. He slammed his fist into a wall, watching it shake with his strength. "I must go," he said.

He turned to the Furies. "Try to find out more, even if it means you must go above the earth!"

. . .

Persephone ignored the thread and the blank tablet, and instead reached for the pin. Not because it was the most beautiful thing in the drawer, but because it was the most interesting. It held the most mystique for her.

When she touched it, it suddenly expanded in size, and she dropped it with a shriek.

. . .

"Hades!"

Hades walked up to his seat in the circle, trying to keep some remnant of his pride. He would not look at Hermes. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked calmly.

"I must speak to my brothers alone." Zeus roared. The hall emptied much quicker than before. Zeus paced. "What have you done, brother?"

"Honestly, Hades, did you think you would get away with this?"

. . .

One her racing heart had calmed, Persephone knelt beside what used to be the pen. What took its place was a beautiful silver circlet, with only a single jewel that she didn't recognize as any she had seen before. She gingerly picked it up, letting out a breath when it didn't change shape again.

. . .

"Why has Hermes stopped bringing the souls?" Hades asked coldly, ignoring the accusations of his brothers.

"He did not wish to anger the Fates even more!"

"Brother, do not pretend, we know what you have done!"

"We just want to know, _why?_"

. . .

Persephone fingered the circlet, wondering at its purpose, and why Hades had hidden it so cleverly. Licking her lips, she slowly… so slowly placed it on her head.

. . .

"There is more to it than that. Hermes would not upset the balance of mankind merely to spit me and please the Fates. And I did it for her." Hades covered his face.

"What do you mean?" Poseidon spoke quietly; almost kindly, and deftly ignoring Hades accusation.

"I wanted M-Persephone to be able to choose her own fate. I didn't want the Fates to deal it before she had a chance to decide for herself."

"She is half god, Hades! But she is also half human. She will die eventually."

"NO! That can never happen. I have done too much already. I _will _not make her fade in my fields forever. She doesn't deserve that!"

"Do any of the humans? What makes them different from us is their very _capability_ to die. It makes them special. I understand your loss, brother, but—"

"That _will not happen again._ It will not."

. . .

Nothing appeared to be different. The room was still the same. Persephone huffed in disappointment, and brought up her arms to take off the circlet. Which was when she noticed. Her arms weren't there. She gasped in surprise, falling back against the wall. She held her hands in front of her face. She knew they were there, and yet… she could not see them!

. . .

"Hades. This is not for you to decide. Lachesis must be able to cast the lots! You must return her tablet immediately!"

Hades slumped over, suddenly.

"Very well. But I will keep the thread."

. . .

Persephone took off the circlet, and her arms reappeared, to her great relief. So that was what the crown did. It rendered the wearer invisible! She put the circlet back in the drawer with a shiver, and watched it shrink back to the raven pin. She shut the drawer, not wanting to sneak any more of Hades secrets.

. . .

"Keep it. The fate of the Lost One has already been decided, and she is long gone. The fates will not care. But beware, Hades. The Gods will not tolerate a breach like this again. If you do something like this again, I will not be able to stem their anger. You will start a war, if you are not careful. So beware, brother. Beware."

. . . . .

Done! I was really excited about this chapter, and I hope you liked it too! See, I told you things were about to heat up! And naughty Persephone, for digging around where you aren't wanted.

Reviews are so much appreciated—they're what keep me going! Thank you so much, and tell me what you think of this chapter, and if there are any errors!

Oh, and tell me what do you think? Should I make a separate lemon chapter at some point? Or would all of you prefer I keep this strictly T?


	10. Chapter 10: The Truth

Hey guys, it's that time of the week! I'm sorry to bring this up again, but only one person responded last time. Would you guys like a lemon chapter for this story eventually, if it's separate from the other chapters and with a warning? Also, if you like this story, please spread the word! And I'd love to know if you like my style of writing, and the story! Thanks guys, reviews are love!

. . .

"I'm back!" Hades called through the castle.

Persephone came running down the stairs, hair flying behind her. "Is everything alright? What was wrong with your realm?"

"Nothing of importance…" Hades trailed off at the glare Persephone was giving him. "Very well then. But I don't think you'll like it… Hermes has stopped delivering the souls to my realm."

"Why do they need to be delivered?" They met at the bottom step, with Persephone standing one step above Hades.

"What? Oh, well, like I told you, I am not omniscient, and without guidance the souls of humans would just float around for eternity, lost to time. It is the duty of Hermes to take those souls to the hall of judgment. Only, he had stopped doing that duty."

"Did you find out why?" Persephone asked, sensing Hades' distress.

"Supposedly," he scoffed. "But I don't believe the excuse that was given to me. Zeus believes it is because Hermes didn't want to anger the Fates for… well, for something that I did. And—"

"What did you do?" She couldn't resist asking.

"Well… I stole something from them."

"You stole something. From the FATES? The beings that choose all of destiny and, well, fate?"

"Yes." Hades sounded gruff, as if he was done defending his actions. "And I'm not about to tell you why, so don't ask. Anyway, as I was saying, Hermes would be just in his cowardice. Except, I don't think that is the whole story. I think that's what Hermes told the other gods, and I think that the other gods believed him. But there's more to it than that. Hermes is clever, and he's a trickster. He would never stop doing his grave duty to mankind because of fear. He is many things, but he would never be one to risk being called a coward."

Persephone took this in, trying to puzzle out the answer. "So why do you think he's doing it?"

"I think someone bought him off." Hades rushed up the stairs, and Persephone followed him. He went to his bedroom, flinging the door open and flicking on a light. Persephone stayed a safe distance behind him as he searched through his desk, clearly looking for something. When he found it, he turned to face her.

It was a scroll.

"Was this what you were going to tell me?" Persephone asked softly.

Hades looked at her for a moment. "From earlier? No, Mea, and I'm sorry about that. This is a list of those who have wished me wrong." He pulled out another scroll. "And this is a list of those whom I have wronged. I need to find out who would do this."

He handed her the second scroll, which Persephone assumed he wanted her to read. She couldn't help but notice that the one containing the names of those he had wronged was much larger than the other.

She began to read.

"Well, there's Orpheus?" She asked.

"Fah!" Hades said, unrolling his own scroll. "That was of his own doing. He shouldn't have looked behind him. Mortals never have any self-restraint. Next."

"Herakles?" she said.

"No, no. I allowed him to beat my dog, I should say that was a great favor for his 'tasks' or whatever it was he was doing in my realm. Next."

"Peirithoos?"

"Well… that one may be true, but he is still here, suffering. Next."

"Asklepios?"

"Well. Erm. Yes, well, that one is quite true… And he would be an option, except he's such a nice guy… plus I had Zeus kill him… and then he was made a god… you know what? I think we're looking in the wrong place. I don't think whoever this is just wants to harm me. I think they have something against all of the gods. Here," he said, grabbing the scroll back from Persephone.

He rummaged around in his desk some more before handing a much larger scroll to Persephone.

"All the people who don't like the gods?" She guessed.

Hades just shrugged.

"Alright… Arachne?"

Hades raised his eyebrows. "Well… yes, actually. She is a distinct possibility. She hates Athena, anyway. Next."

"Medusa?" Persephone made a face at that one. She had, in fact, heard of Medusa.

Hades saw the look on her face. "Pity Medusa."

"What do you mean?"

"She has borne nothing but suffering. She is not an evil being, and I do not think she would wish to completely get rid of the gods, regardless of what we have done to her. Next."

By the time they had finished the scroll, they had narrowed their list down to Arachne and Geryon (although Persephone still thought Medusa might have something to do with it).

Persephone sat, holding her knees to her chest, against the wall. She rested her head on them, and her dark hair seemed to cocoon her in a blanket of softness.

Hades saw that she was feeling despair, though he could not fathom why, and he walked over to kneel before her, gripping her honey colored hands in his own icy ones. "What's wrong, Mea?" He asked softly.

Persephone looked up at him, and he could see plainly the fear she held in those violet eyes. "What are we supposed to _do _about this, Hades?"

Hades raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten that I am a god, Mea?"

"You are, and that is all well and good, but what of me? What am I? How am I supposed to help you, if I am to remain here? I am helpless, and I don't like being helpless."

Hades did not look at Persephone's face as she spoke. No, what attracted his attention was how her countenance darkened with her words, and how something strange began to form around her. As he watched, the air around her seemed to shiver, and then it began to knit itself together. The girl was making her own mists, right before his eyes!

He licked his lips, returning his gaze to her face. She had to know. She had to. There was no way… and yet, as he looked deeply into her eyes, he could see that she had not even a glimmer of the knowledge that would bring her out of her despair.

That, above all else, hardened his resolve. He stood, pulling her up with him.

"What is it?" She said.

"Wait here." He left her, sweeping from his bedroom to his study in a cloud of night. When he returned, he held a scroll.

"What is that?" She asked, though her voice held some guilt, as if she had seen the scroll before. Hades ignored it, and unrolled the aged paper.

When it was open, he turned it to face her. It was blank. Old, and yellow, with small holes around the edges, but blank.

"And?" she asked, confused.

"I believe this is a way for me to tell you of the secrets," he said quietly. "Not all of them, but at least some of what pertains to you."

Her eyes widened, and she nodded. Finally.

"If you sign your name here, you will be signing yourself into secrecy. I believe then that you will be signing yourself to my will. If you cannot speak of the secrets, then you are not truly betraying them. See?"

Persephone nodded slowly, though she thought Hades was stretching the truth, if only a little.

Hades flicked his wrist, and a quill wove itself out of the mists. It was long, and she guessed that it came from the things that had flown through the air in the fields. She took the quill, fingering the rough, oiliness of it. She stared at the parchment in front of her, trying to think of a reason _not _to sign it. Thinking back to before she had come down into the Underworld (which seemed like a very long time), she remembered how she had called Hades, with the purpose of answering her questions. Well, she had new questions now, and though she wanted them answered, she wondered just what Hades meant when he said that she was signing herself to his will. She chewed her lip in indecision, and then decided to just go for it. After all, he had been kind to her so far, and he didn't need to be.

Reaching out, she signed _Περσεφονεία_, and let out a shaky breath.

Hades smiled, which didn't really make her feel any better, and rolled up the scroll again. He strode over to his desk and shut the scroll inside. The quill disappeared from her hand, and was replaced by his hand. He led her over to the chair he had created for her and sat down next to her.

She felt her heart race against her better judgment. Perhaps she would finally find out who she was.

"Do you know of the goddess Demeter?" Hades asked slowly.

Persephone nodded, not wanting to ruin the moment somehow with her speech. The fire crackled in the fireplace, casting their shadows high on the stone wall.

"Well, she… um. Let me start it this way.

"Once upon a time, there lived a woman named Demeter. She was happy, and made the harvest plentiful for all the people on earth. She had many children, and oversaw many of the things that bring joy to mortals. But for all her happiness, she had conceived only sons, and this saddened her. So she decided to try and have a daughter. She tried among the gods, and still conceived only sons… so she tried on earth. For a while, it seemed that she was doomed never to be blessed with a daughter… until she met Avni. She loved him as much as the gods love those they use, and conceived a child with him. There was a great rejoicing when the child was born a girl, for man had suffered with Demeter's unhappiness. She gave birth to the child, and for a while she was very happy, because she could visit the girl and her father, and be with them. But happiness doesn't last forever," Hades paused, and gave a dark chuckle. "That's what Death is for.

"One day Avni was taking the child for a walk in the local village, when some soldiers decided to have some fun with him. They surrounded the father and daughter, and began to taunt Avni. They teased him about his daughter, calling him a woman, and a homemaker. He was fine, as long as the jokes were about him. But soon they began to tease the child, calling her filthy names and threatening in joke to rape her.

"This, the father could never tolerate. He walked brusquely away from the soldiers, handed the child to one of the kindest women in the village, and pulled out his sword. He returned to the soldiers, and challenged them all to a duel. They didn't really want to fight him; after all, they had only been having a bit of fun; but soldiers never back down from a challenge. So they pulled their swords out in return. For a time, it seemed that Avni would win, as the men were all drunk and not trying particularly hard. But there were six soldiers, and only one of him, and when he killed one of them, the rest grew serious." Hades stopped, swallowing several times. "They killed him quickly, and with the honor he deserved, and when he died, Demeter made the village where he had been killed a sacred place of worship. She smote the cowards who had done it with such force that they still weep in my realm, and then she mourned.

"If she had not had the child, perhaps she would have allowed herself to drown in her sadness. But she did have the child, so she steeled herself with the strength that women have, and got busy. She treasured the child with all of her being, but her greatest blessing had also been a curse. Because the child was half human, she could not live on Olympus, and Demeter had duties to attend to that she could not ignore, being a goddess. She had to be placed in the care of loving mortals. Beyond that, the child was in danger of being attacked, both by mortals wishing to make conquests and by immortals that had a grudge against Demeter. So she had to be kept in secrecy, in order to protect her… in order to keep her alive. The child grew up a mortal life, completely, adorably unaware of the life she could have had, for the simple mixed blessing that she was a girl. A boy," Hades voice turned slightly bitter. "Would have been able to romp and play and fight and learn. But a girl had to be kept in the dark. And then that girl, who had capabilities that she knew nothing of, decided that she'd had enough. She stormed into a dark wood—one that was already brimming with death—and begged the Lord of the Underworld to tell her why she had been so cheated in her life. And what was he to do," Hades' voice softened to a whisper. "But give her what she wanted?"

Persephone sat completely still for the whole duration of Hades' story. When he finished, she didn't react, and to a stranger she wouldn't have appeared to have listened at all. But Hades knew her better than that. He saw her clench her fists; saw her breathing slow and the color drain from her face.

He reached out and touched her hand. "It's going to be fine, Mea."

She exhaled slowly. "Really, Hades? _Really?_ That's what you have to say to me after you tell me that I'm a demigod?"

Hades cleared his throat. "Um?"

Persephone held up her hands. Then she clasped them in front of her face. Then she shook them, making small noises in the back of her throat. "No. That is quite enough, thank you. I need to think." She got up from her seat, and began to pace.

Hades sat back in his chair, trying to think of a way to placate her, and coming up with nothing.

She walked quickly back and forth in front of him, the fire making her shadow leap and dance.

"So tell me if I heard this correctly. I am a demigod, and you have spent the last…however long I've been down here listening to me think that I'm worthless, when all the while you have _known_ that I'm a demigod?"

"Erm. Yes?" Hades seemed unable to decide whether he was more afraid of answering Persephone or pretending not to hear her.

"Good. Fine. That's perfect," she said, pacing away from him and stopping with her back to him, facing the wall.

Hades would have let her stand there, but he noticed her shoulders begin to shake, so he stood and went to stand behind her. He raised a hand up, but before he could rest it gently on her shoulder, she turned around.

"All my life," she whispered, staring up at him with wide eyes. "All my life I have been teased. I have been looked down on by people—not my family, they were loving, just like you said, but everyone else. I thought I was some kind of freak… someone who deserved to be treated like less than everyone else. _All my life._"

Hades lifted a hand and gently brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek.

"All my life I've felt this way, and now you tell me that… I'm special, but in a good way? I just… it's a lot to take in." She sighed, and her brow finally relaxed a little.

Hades slid his hand over her neck to cup the back of her head, leaning in until their foreheads were touching.

"What am I going to do now?" She said, her breath kissing his lips.

"You're going to train."

. . .

Thanks guys!


	11. Chapter 11: The Teaching

Yay! Friday (or whatever part of the weekend it is wherever you are)! I want to get right into the story, but really fast:

**Nightleaf of the Lawling Clan: **Would it really go against FFN's rules? I feel like I see a LOT of mature fics on here… and they don't get kicked off. I would of course change the rating to M if I wrote a lemon, and I don't have a lot of experience writing them so it would probably not be very detailed… of course if it's an issue of discomfort, I of course would respect even one person who would be made uncomfortable by my story being made into a lemon… would a fade to black scene be more appropriate? Any thoughts from anyone else about theis?

Thanks so much everyone, reviews are love and I swear I read them all and read them often. Oh, and if you want me to reply directly to your review before the story, just let me know in the review—especially if something is off in the mythology that isn't part of my twist on the story, as well as grammar mistakes and weird spelling or bad writing. I love critique as well as love! Love you guys! 3

. . . . .

"Now left!"

Persephone dodged to the left, avoiding a slow sword swing that Hades aimed at her. She raised her own sword just in time to meet his, and she bit her lip as her hand shook against the pressure.

He stared her directly in the eyes, the intensity of the gaze piercing directly into her heart and stealing her breath.

That moment of distraction was just enough for Hades to swing the sword around, knocking her off her feet.

She looked up at him and pouted.

"What? You let your guard down."

"We were having a moment."

Hades laughed, pulling her up. She was wearing some mens' pantaloons and a blouse that Hades had found for her…somewhere. She had pulled her hair back and tied it with string from one of her sandals, which had turned out to be an extremely good idea… partly because it was out of her face and partly because Hades seemed to love it.

She twisted the sword in her hand, still trying to get used to it. It was the finest metal—she didn't know what kind it was yet, but it felt light and comfortable to her, unlike the soldiers' swords that she had felt in the past. There was a black rock of some kind on the end of the handle—something Hades called obsidian. It was sharp; sharp enough to make the weapon double-ended. She sank into a fighting stance again, and nodded at Hades.

He lunged forward, immediately knocking her sword aside. "Dead."

She groaned in frustration. "Again."

He shook his head, smiling, and they started again.

This time, she fake dodged to her right, and then swung at him from the left. This time (though he may or may not have let her do it) she managed to get her sword point to his neck. This time, he nodded, smiling faintly, and got back into starting position.

Five more times—ten, and Persephone was getting better.

"Ha!" He yelled, as she knocked his sword away. "That's it! You're doing well! Again!"

She got back into position slowly. While it was exhilarating to be excelling, she was growing steadily more tired of working, and wanted to be done…now.

She let a half smile form on her face, and spun the blade around in her hand, raising her eyebrows at him.

His eyes flashed in return, and he waited, beckoning her to attack him first. She obliged.

Swinging her sword over her head, she used all of the technique she had learned in that day to her advantage; dodging and faking, lunging and arcing and twisting and staying in the fray for much longer than their other bouts. This seemed to please Hades—he actually looked like he was being slightly challenged, instead of the well-concealed boredom that she had seen in his eyes during their earlier training. Eventually, she saw the opening she was looking for. Whether it was because Hades let his guard down for a moment, or because he was taking it easy on her, or because he was tired, he opened his position up for the slightest moment, and that was enough.

She knocked his sword aside, and threw herself forward. Instead of laying her sword point on his neck, however, she let her body fall against his. He had not expected this form of attack at all and thus stumbled back, and let himself fall back against the wall and slide down to the floor.

He looked at her curiously from this new position, with her on her knees in between his legs, and for a moment they were both still.

Then she leaned forward, and gently—so gently—pressed her lips to his. He was surprised at this kiss—it was the first, it seemed, that was not a result of confliction or fear. Persephone's eyes slid shut almost immediately, but he kept his open for just a moment—just long enough to see her smile against him. Then he was lost to their kiss.

His arms wrapped around her waist, almost by themselves, just as her hands wove themselves into his hair. He turned her so she was sitting across his leg—he could hold her better this way, and her knees weren't pressed into the hard rocky ground.

Persephone felt her heart race—this made everything she was doing worthwhile. This made her feel like she was doing something right. This (while new and tender and raw) was like a flower from Hades' garden; something to be treasured and loved and looked after, lest it fall to ruin.

Shyly, and with much inner struggle, Persephone gently took Hades' bottom lip in her own. Hades gasped, and for a moment Persephone was afraid she had hurt him in some way; but then his hold on her tightened, and she felt his tongue softly ask for entrance. She opened her eyes then. He was staring at her with so much love in his… obsidian eyes that she knew he would not harm her. Slowly, and with the innocence that comes with inexperience, she parted her lips a little for him. He deepened their kiss; every moment of it achingly slow and wonderfully new, and soon Persephone found herself pressed to the floor, with Hades hovering above her.

Her hands were pressed to his chest, and she could feel his heart pound just as hers had. She slowly pushed him back up into a sitting position, breaking their kiss but not their connection. He opened his eyes, puzzled.

She sighed, smiling a little, and sat forward on her knees again. Reaching out with trembling fingers, she took his face in her hands, feeling a surge of relief even now when he didn't pull away.

"Your eyes are so glorious," she murmured.

"What?" He answered, looking confused but not derisive.

"They remind me of this place," she said quietly, gazing around them. They were in a large courtyard near the gardens, which she had not seen before. "Dark as night, with no moon or stars."

She watched the light fade from his eyes a little as she said the words. No, _light _was not the appropriate word. For his eyes carried no light—the bore the darkness that was mirrored through his entire realm. Yet there was a…_deepness_ about them that she had never encountered in another living soul. While this could have been a trait of all the gods, she believed that it was not. This was something that was solely Hades. It was part of what made him…_special._ Part of what made him him.

"Don't misunderstand me," she said, leaning forward until their foreheads met; his dark hair curtaining them from the outside world. "I've never much cared for the light."

He stared at her, disbelieving, and she laughed.

"Oh, sure, I used to _think _I did. But I didn't—not really. Light has no mystery…no secrets. It is boring and plain and what every mortal—and almost all immortals—must live with every day. But the _dark,_" she moaned the word, leaning forward so her breath ghosted against his lips. "The _dark_ is what reveals a man. It shows his cowardice or bravery; the true _light _and _dark _that dwell in his soul.

"Once a wise man told me something. He said to remember that dark things can dwell in the light, and light things can dwell in the dark, and the only way to tell the difference is to see how well they do when they encounter something that is _different _from them.

"So you see," she said, licking her lips in a way that touched his own. "I like your eyes _very _much. And I want you to understand something, oh Great Lord of the Underworld." Her eyes grew sharp, and her hands gripped him in a way that told him exactly what her feelings were. "You do _not scare me_. You can't scare me. Remember that, the next time you want to push me away." She stood, a little shakily, though she hid it well.

Hades stood as well, feeling that incredible warmth surge through him again. She was so different from anything he had ever been taught or told. She made him think differently about what he was supposed to feel…in fact, she made him forget everything at all.

He leaned in to snatch another kiss, but she held up her hand to stop him. "Now what's this about special _powers_ that I might possess?"

. . .

"I'll not stand for it any longer!" The shrill voice echoed through the chamber, cut with a ragged sound like Demeter had not stopped crying in a long time—which of course she hadn't.

"I _promised_ him six months, sister!" Zeus groaned, wishing they could all drop the subject of the girl for more than a moment or two.

"I can't take it any more, I just… c-can't!" Demeter began to sob again, and Hestia laid a gentle, comforting hand on her back.

Zeus closed his eyes, wishing that the stupid girl had never been born.

"I'VE GOT IT!" The voice was faint at first, but grew louder as Athena approached the half circle. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before! It's brilliant!"

"What is it?" Hermes leaned forward conspiratorially, hoping that there would be at least a little mischief involved.

"It's so simple—all of my planning… this has been distracting me for weeks, and it was all just as simple as this!"

"What is it, Athena?" Zeus asked tiredly.

"You'll thank me Demeter, I did all of this planning just for you—"

"WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND?" Zeus had brought out his yelling voice, which he usually reserved for mortals and those he failed to seduce.

Athena glared at him until he held up his hands in defeat. "It so simple. We'll just dip her in the River Lethe—the River of Forgetfulness!"

. . .

"Will that be all?" The mortal droned as he accepted the coins.

The customer didn't bother to reply; he just grunted and grabbed his cloth sack, before heading away from the market stall and through the streets. He felt a little shudder pass through him, and loped as fast as he could toward the nearest alley. Right before he reached it, he grabbed a mortal by the neck, dragging him in with him.

If the mortals on the street had been paying any attention, they would probably have noticed the commotion going on in that dank alleyway. Perhaps they would have heard the muffled screams echoing through the walls. Perhaps they would have heard the mad scuffling, and the sounds of panic that come when someone is well and truly afraid of losing their very life. Perhaps they would have heard the eerie difference in the afternoon when the sounds of struggle were abruptly cut off. But they weren't paying attention, and so didn't hear any part of the struggle. They also missed out the first, grunting man walked out of the alley looking much stronger than he had a moment ago; how he stood taller and had a new color to his cheeks.

But the most important thing they missed was the dark chuckle the man gave as he disappeared into the crowd in the lazy afternoon sun.

. . . . .

Thanks again for reading, let me know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12: The Souls

Hi guys! I'm sooooooo sorry I didn't update last week—I had a bunch of tests and lots of other crap to deal with… so I wrote a longer chapter! I love you guys! Don't eat me!

. . .

"Lakhesis, issss it returned?" The voice hissed.

"It isss, Klotho. He is forgiven… for now. If he doesss it again, though, we shall have to take… precautionsss."

The Fate walked over to the large cauldron, sitting beside it with her tablet. And slowly the three sisters began to re-write the lives of the humans that had gone so horribly awry.

. . .

"Have you found anything?" Hades said shortly, walking so quickly that the Errinyes had to fly to keep up.

"Yessss, Massster. Hermess isss doing hisss duty once more."

Hades nodded. "What else?"

"We have found rumorsss of the mortal world of a creature who drinksss the life blood of humansss, and sstealss their sssoulss in the process."

"Drinks their blood? What creatures do we know who can do that?" Hades said. He didn't believe a word of the stolen souls—only he and Hermes could take souls, and as much as he disliked Hermes, he knew that the mischief-maker would never endanger the lives of mortals like that. Well… used to know. Now he wasn't so sure.

"The Manticore?" They suggested.

"He has never been known to suck the blood out of people though."

"The Laestrygionianss?"

"Perhaps. Though I feel as though this might be a whole new breed. A whole new enemy that I must overcome. As if I didn't have enough to deal with…" Hades trailed off, stopping at the awkward looks he was getting from his servants. "Alright, keep looking. And find out what's going on with Hermes."

. . .

Persephone let her breath fall into a deep, even pattern, before taking a large sigh and lifting her hand.

"Come on…" she hissed, feeling sweat start to drip down her forehead. She stood in Hades' garden, hand held out before her. But nothing was happening. She jerked her hand, as if that would make her work go faster.

Of course, Hades _had _told her not to try anything while he was gone… but she simply couldn't resist. The moment he had told her of the power she had within her, she needed to find out for herself exactly what that was.

The flowers in the garden, while turned toward her, stayed where they were. Hades didn't know what her powers would be, but he had a feeling they would have something to do with flowers… or the harvest, at the very least.

Not a very awe-inspiring power, but Persephone supposed it would have to do. And she was happy that she had powers at all.

She wiped the perspiration from her brow, trying harder to access that part of her that would free the magic.

"I'm afraid," Corbin said softly, startling her. "It doesn't quite work that way."

She let out the breath she had been holding, and turned to him. "Why is it so hard, Corbin? I understood the fighting so easily. This just isn't working. I don't feel anything."

Corbin stood quietly for a moment, before replying. "How do you feel when you are around Hades?" He asked.

She blushed, and looked to the ground.

"I thought so," he smiled, and walked over to her, encouraging her to look up at him again. "That feeling—of warmth, and safety, and reassurance—is what you need to feel when you are accessing your power. Your power is one of peace, and goodness, and warm hearts… at least I think so. Everything I know of your mother—and of you—would lead me to believe so. Instead of trying so hard to feel the power coursing through you, try to feel that same feeling you get around Hades, and apply it to the earth, and the plants. I have already seen how they react to you—you need only see it for yourself." With that, he was gone, disappearing like a ghost, lost to the night.

Persephone pressed her hands to her heart, allowing that warm feeling that she felt with Hades to flood her system, until she was full to the brim with love for him.

She raised her hands, a new look of determination showing through her violet eyes, and she tried again.

. . .

Hades stopped suddenly, and tried to let his anger go with a deep breath.

Souls poured into the halls of Judgment, their ghostly forms crowding into the room and thickening it with a white mist that recoiled as it touched his own black mist.

Apparently Hermes wasn't angry with him any longer.

He pressed a hand to his brow, and just walked away. He couldn't deal with this right now.

"Masster!" called one of the Errinyes, swooping toward him.

"Yes, yes, what is it?" He snapped.

"An urgent letter from the godsss!" She landed in front of him, handing him a small scroll.

He opened it, expecting the worst. It only carried two words.

_The Lethe._

He clenched his fist, crumpling the letter into ash. He would not give up like that. He would not erase her memory like that. He would not…

. . .

She stood for a moment, with her eyes closed. She knew something had happened—she had felt a rush of power, and heard a sigh of wind, and smelled a blooming flower. But she hadn't dared to look yet.

She nervously blinked her eyes open, only to take a step back. The plants of the garden had shot ten feet in the air, and had crawled toward her. They didn't appear menacing, but she could feel their life—their force and their warmth and their power. She had never expected the plants to have such strength. She looked up, and found that even the ancient pomegranate trees had grown, their bark curling and stretching toward her. An outstretched dark leaf tickled her nose.

A clapping noise disturbed her peace, and she looked up to see Hades leaning against the doors of the courtyard. "Very impressive."

She smiled for him, moving her silky hair out of her face.

Hades walked slowly over to her, and fingered the leaves of the tree. "I must say, I have never seen a power quite like yours. It seems like you have a…relationship with them, almost. Your mother can control the harvest, and Dionysus can control sumptuous things, but I have never met anyone who can simply control all plants. It is very interesting. Especially since there are no nymphs in the Underworld."

She held up her hand, and hesitantly rested it on his arm. He turned to smile at her, and leaned in for a kiss, which she obliged. It lingered, but Persephone could tell just by the way Hades breathed that there was something wrong.

"What is it?" She asked.

His dark hair fell into his face, and he sighed. "I don't know. That's just the problem." He wanted to tell her about the gods' wishes—he really really did. But he didn't see the sense in it. She would just be upset about it—she might even want to try and go back up to the world. "Hermes is bringing the dead again—in fact, he's bringing them in hordes. But that's just the problem. I think that this is all a big distraction. I just can't tell what it's for."

"Let me help," she whispered, reaching up to hold his face.

He shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to resist her. "I'm sorry, Mea. It's just not something you can help with."

She pulled away, narrowing her eyes in frustration. "Why? Because I can't leave this place? Put me to work! Have me help the souls! Let me help you! I can't do anything just sitting here in this old castle alone doing nothing!"

"I wouldn't exactly call it nothing," he growled, pulling her close again. "You taught yourself how to use the powers you have as a demigod. That was all you."

"Well," she said, smiling a secretive smile. "Corbin helped a lot."

He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"It's nothing," she said.

"Very well then. Perhaps you are right," though he stood in front of her, his eyes were far away. "I can use you, if it is truly what you wish. But you must be warned—"

"'I'll see lots of horrible things, and I must be prepared for that, blah blah blah.' Yes, I know. You haven't tested my strength yet, Hades. So please reserve your judgment until then."

He stared at her, waiting for her to blink. But she would not falter. Then he nodded.

She had won.

. . .

He sat in his study, hands in his hair. What could he do? There had to be some solution to his problem!

. . .

Persephone wandered among the souls, answering their questions when she could and just trying to comfort them when she could not. Most seemed to accept the fact that they were dead, but a few were…upset. Particularly the children, who didn't really understand what was going on at first. When Persephone encountered these lost ones, she felt a tug at her heart, as if they were her own children who had been lost, and not just mortals. Just mortals. When had she begun to think of herself as different from them?

. . .

What could he do?

He sat back in his chair, trying to think of some way to keep her with him, and please the gods at the same time.

A horrible idea suddenly occurred to him, and his eyes widened in despair and he turned to the library he had set into the wall. He threw scrolls behind him in his search, trying to find a specific one.

. . .

Persephone stood from where she had been crouched next to a wailing ghost child, and turned, only to jump back with a gasp.

A soul stood in front of her—that of a man with scraggly hair that hung down and covered his eyes. As she watched, his mouth opened into a wide smile, revealing sharp, uneven teeth, and he raised a thin, bony hand. Slowly, he reached out and pressed a ghostly finger to her forehead, and she found that she could no longer move.

. . .

Hades felt the tug in his heart that meant she was in danger. Their connection was strengthening. But he couldn't worry about that now. He found the correct scroll, and spread its ancient paper out on his desk as quickly as he could.

. . .

Persephone found her eyes travelling as the ghost held her there, trying to find a way to escape. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see little spiders of deep purple stretch down her clenched hands. Fear gripped her with icy hands, and she tried as hard as she could to break the grip of the grinning ghost.

. . .

Hades held his hands in front of him, forming a cup of sorts. With his eyes, he directed the mists to boil into his hands. They stayed there, looking like some sort of poisonous potion. Slowly, he leaned forward, and blew. The mists flew away from his hands like sand in the wind to reveal a small silver object, and he felt fear grip his gut as the tug on his heart strengthened in intensity.

. . .

The world was going fuzzy at the edges. Persephone found herself struggling to breathe. Then, right before her eyes, something pale and white began to ooze out of her gaping mouth. It poured, stealing her breath and spilling out toward the man like the mists of Hades. The man grinned wider and brought up his other hand to guide what could only have been her soul to his own mouth.

Persephone felt all of her strength leaving her; felt her limbs go numb and her eyes go dim, and she knew that she was dying.

Just as it touched his lips, a black arrow shot through the blackness, going straight through the ghost before disappearing. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream, and then he began to disintegrate. From the spot where the arrow had struck him, a circle of red, like a piece of paper that was burning, began to spread, eating him from the inside out.

As Persephone watched, still frozen, the man looked up and finally met her gaze as he faded. In them she saw hatred, fear, and… jealousy?

He finally burned into nothing, the last of his cries echoing through her mind.

Her soul still floated in front of her, and she was powerless to take it back.

As she watched, the Lord himself stepped out of the darkness. He almost ran up to her—something that he never did. With all the care of someone holding a baby, he gestured his hands around her very soul. It condensed, until it was a small ball of light. Then he drew something out of his robes.

It was a small crystal, only about the length of her thumb, and hanging from a long black thread. Hades carefully held it up to the ball of light, and the crystal seemed to absorb it slowly.

As it did, Persephone found it easier and easier to breathe, until she could finally fill her lungs. Once the crystal was completely glowing, Persephone gasped and fell forward into his arms.

"Hades! Oh, Hades! What happened?" she tried to stay strong—she didn't cry or anything, but she did continue to gasp and gulp air.

Hades looked around, taking in the staring souls, and he held her as close as he could. Then he wrapped his robes around them, and took them back to the castle.

He sank to the floor, cradling her in his arms and shushing her gently. He peppered her face with light kisses, and pushed her hair back from her face.

"I'm sorry, Mea," he whispered.

"What happened Hades?" she whispered back.

"I forgot—I just never expected…I mean…oh Styx," he pulled out the necklace with the crystal again, and held it in front of her.

She took it, gently caressing its smooth edges.

"I am so very sorry. Let me start at the beginning. This," he held up the crystal again. "Is your soul. Your connection to life. You seem to be very prone to accidents involving your soul, my dear," he gave her a stern look. "Anyway, the man you saw today was a kind of demon. As a matter of fact, he was a kind of demon that I have never encountered before. He had a soul. He was dead, and in the Underworld, just as a human, yet he was very clearly a demon. I have no idea how it happened. Anyway, he was… stealing your soul. I don't know why he was doing that either. But he was doing it, nonetheless. And had he taken it…"

"I would have been lost forever, doomed to die without anywhere to go or anything to go?"

"Well, yes."

"Great. So now the question is, why did he do it? And why me? And will it happen again?"

"I don't have the answer to two of those questions. But as to the third, most certainly it will happen again. The question is, can we avoid it? And I believe we can."

He reached out and gently slipped the string over her head. A warmth that she didn't know she had been missing filled her. And a pain that she didn't know she had been feeling went away, easing a tightness that she hadn't known she'd had from her heart.

She relaxed into his form, and he secured his robes tighter around her. Underneath them, he wore a simple black shirt and black pants.

"This crystal carries your very being, Mea. What 'makes you you.' Try not to lose it."

She tilted her head back, and he leaned forward until their lips met. She broke the kiss slowly, and then she tucked the crystal under her shirt. Then she settled back into his chest, her eyes drifting shut. "I shall do my very best, my Lord," she muttered, before relaxing completely. Her breathing slowly deepened, and her grip on his shirt went slack.

Hades sat for a moment, before leaning down and gently kissing each of her eyelids. Then he began to whisper softly to her. "I was so worried, Mea. I thought—I thought. I thought the worst. I was so angry with myself for not thinking of the danger. And when I felt out connection, and I knew something was wrong—I thought the worst. Oh, Mea. I came to realize something, while I was madly searching for a way to save you."

He paused a moment, glancing around his room as if to make sure no one was listening.

"I love you."

. . .

I REPEAT! I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING LAST WEEK! But I hope this makes up for it… just a little bit? *runs and hides.


	13. Chapter 13: EDITED: The Confession

GAH! I missed a week again! I'm so sorry. Here we go!

. . . . .

"Ha!"

"Very good! Keep going!"

Persephone dodged and struck, feinted and slashed. She was getting better all the time, and Hades had to actually work now to beat her. She laughed as she spun around with the freshly sharpened blade, and she was sure that to anyone but Hades she would appear to be mad. But she knew that Hades would never judge her for relishing in a fight—after all, he did his own fair share of them. She sprinted to the far wall, distracting him, and while he was chasing her, she summoned all of her will and concentration and made a tree root stick up from the earth.

Hades didn't even see it, and it caught his foot. He (of course) did not fall, but he did stumble, which gave her enough time to run up and hold her sword up to his neck.

He smiled, and nodded at her, and they got back into starting positions. They circled each other for a while, each waiting for the other to strike.

She ran away from him suddenly, and when she was a good distance away, she turned and beckoned him with her fingers.

He obliged, stalking toward her.

She took the opportunity and sprinted forward, at the last second sliding right between his legs and jumping up behind him and latching her arms around his neck, dropping her sword to the ground and nuzzling her face into his neck.

He laughed. "Well done. Ready to take a break?" He dropped his sword as well and reached up to grab her arms, swinging her around until she was standing in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"What could we possibly be breaking for? To eat? Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't need to eat here."

"I was thinking more along the lines of… well…" Hades trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed.

She raised an eyebrow. "Well… what? This?" she leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his. He smiled against them, and she felt that warmth fill her once again. His hands went into her hair, and she deepened the kiss, their tongues battling for dominance. Soon they were on the floor, panting, clothes rumpled and hair mussed. Persephone pulled away suddenly, making Hades groan a bit.

"What is it?" He breathed.

"Well, I've noticed recently, that I can… _feel _you." She paused, and at the look of shocked embarrassment she laughed. "Not like that. I mean I can feel when you're angry, and when you're sad, and happy… it's very faint, like you're whispering to me. It's like we're… connected."

He smiled at her. "That's because we are. You are tied to my realm," He paused, sitting her up and pulling her onto his lap. "And therefore to me. As our emotional… bond grows stronger, so does our connection. I suspect we would almost be able to communicate with each other if we…" He trailed off, looking a little embarrassed, but Persephone knew what he meant.

In fact, she knew what he meant so well that her cheeks reddened, and she looked away, heart picking up speed.

He looked into her eyes worriedly, and tenderly brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "You know that I would never do anything to hurt you, right?"

She nodded, smiling at him. But in her heart, she was indecisive, because if she was honest, she wasn't sure if she didn't want… that.

Hades was still looking at her. He seemed incredibly nervous for some reason. "Look, Mea, there's something I have to tell you…"

"Yes, Hades?" She asked, urging him on.

"Well, you see, I've just been feeling like… well…"

"Yesss?" she said, trying not to sound impatient.

"Well, it's like this. I—"

"Massster!"

Hades sighed, before standing and pulling Persephone up with him. They walked into the front hall, where the Errinye stood, wringing her hands.

"What is it?"

"Sir, we have discovered another one. I thought you should know."

"Did he cause any damage?"

"No, but before we could catch him, he plunged a black sharpened stone through his heart, and we lost him. He did say, 'he will triumph,' before he left."

"Thank you. You may go."

The Errinye nodded, and flew through the halls and into the Underworld.

Hades turned to Persephone. "What were we saying?"

"Don't you need to address this…?"

"It can wait. No matter what I do right now, this is still going to be a problem in the morning. Anyway…"

"Anyway, you were about to tell me you love me."

"Right, yes—what?!"

Persephone smiled at the very shocked Hades. She turned so she was standing in front of him, and draped her arms around his neck. "It's alright… I love you too."

"B-but…I didn't even get to say it!"

Persephone raised an eyebrow, challenging him. "Then say it."

Hades pressed his forehead to hers, accepting her invitation. He brought a serious feeling back into their mood by darkening his countenance, and placing slow, gentle kisses all over her face. "I…" he said, pausing to kiss her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, "Love…" he tilted her head up and kissed her neck, making her flush. Then he brought his lips up to her ear, nipping at it a little. "You."

It felt so good to finally say, like this feeling had been buried right beneath the surface for a long time, and they had simply uncovered it. As Hades finished, he pressed his lips to hers, and she met him with such passion that he was nearly brought to his knees.

Suddenly, she broke their kiss, making him groan.

"You have _got_ to stop doing that, Mea."

"Just calm down, your Deadliness," she said, reaching behind her neck. Slowly, she pulled the silvery crystal up from where it rested under her shirt, and over her head. Smiling tentatively, she held it in front of him.

Hades looked at her, unable to keep his jaw from dropping.

"I want… I want you to keep this," she said quietly.

Hades shook his head, holding up his hands. "No… no, I can't! It's you _soul, _Mea. Your very life. I can't just—"

"I trust you with my life," she said firmly. "Take it."

He closed his eyes momentarily, before hesitantly and carefully taking the crystal from her and looping the thread that held it around his own neck. Then he squeezed her hands, giving her a calculating look, as if to take her temperature. He started, as if he had been struck by a brilliant idea. "I have something for you as well. Stay here." He held out his hands as if to make sure she wasn't moving, before turning and rushing up the stairs.

Persephone stood completely still, letting the surprise of having someone to love and be loved by envelope her.

Hades was back down the stairs in an instant, and he held something in a closed fist. He flew down to her, and stopped, holding out the fist.

She looked at it, and then him, and then at it again. He slowly opened the fist, revealing a small ring made of black smooth stone. It was carved into a flower—a beautiful flower, with open petals that curved delicately upward—all made of black rock. She looked him in the eyes, and kept that gaze locked as he took her hand and slipped the ring onto her index finger.

"This ring also has protective powers, Mea. It will feel cold when there are enemies around, and warm when there are friends."

They stayed still for a moment, and then she moved forward a few steps and closed the distance between them. He bridged the final gap, pressing their lips together.

This kiss felt unlike any they had shared before. It was passionate like all their kisses were, but it carried the weight of what they had just shared. They were so wrapped around themselves that every worry, every scary thing just disappeared, and they were the only two people in the world. And that's all they were. People. Hades was no longer a god, but a man, and Persephone was no longer a demigod, but a woman.

Hades broke the kiss momentarily to wrap his mists around them and take them to his room. He then locked the door to it behind them, and she pulled him in to finish what they started.

This time, they didn't stop.

. . . . .

$#!t just got real. Well, I hope you liked the chapter, and I have decided that I will post a lemon for this fic, but it will be a very slight one and will not violate any rules (I think)… I checked them. Three times. That will also be posted tonight. I am trying to keep things extremely classy in this story, and I hope that you all understand that for the story to work the way I have planned it, they need to have this strong 'connection,' and that they are making love, not… well… shagging, for lack of a better term. The rating this fic is now and officially M. I apologize if this offends any of you guys, and I hope I won't lose any of you.

EDIT: My lemon was reported -_- so I took it down. To be perfectly honest, it was really awkward for me to write, and more for experimentation than anything, and while I felt that it was really not bad compared to some of the stuff here on FF, I took it donw to be safe. I think you all agree that it would be better to have this fic than not. So... that's it really :)


	14. Chapter 14: The Bottom Line

I know I'm a bit late, but it's still technically the weekend, right? XD

. . . . .

_"You are my sun," she said quietly._

_"And you my moon."_

"Mmmm…" She stretched, arching her back. Hades was still asleep, and she studied the contours of his face, remembering the last time they had woken up together. Before she had found out everything she knew now.

Before she knew she loved him.

She had been using his arm as a pillow, and was pressed up against his side. She felt a little sore… but in a good way.

She leaned over until she was laying on top of him bare chest pressed to his, and kissed his face.

He yawned, and reached up to brush the hair out of her face. "Good morning my love."

"Good morning," she couldn't help the light blush that colored her cheeks.

He lifted his head and pressed his lips gently to hers. "I love you."

"I love you too." It felt so good to say; like their hearts had been waiting forever and would wait forever to say it again.

Her crystal rested against his chest, glowing gently. She fingered it, as he traced her skin, gliding his fingers down her back and sides.

"So," she said. "What are we going to do now?"

"We're going to continue your training, and the Errinyes are going to continue searching for the bad guy."

She giggled.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

"You just sound so… I don't know… not tough, when you say it like that. Instead of saying villain or something, you say 'bad guy.' It's just…" She had to stop speaking; she was laughing too hard.

"Oh yeah? I am really really tough. So tough. So tough that—"

"So tough? Yeah right… I'm terrified."

"Yeah? Well, you should be."

He flipped her over, and began to tickle her all over her body. She positively howled her laugher, giggling until she was breathless. She shrank, laughing and shrieking and twisting. And then she twisted just right, and heard him suddenly take in a deep breath.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she stared at him—at his strong, sculpted body; at his gentle eyes; at the crystal that held her being hanging down and brushing her stomach. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him down to press against her.

"Well, Mr. Tough," she said, raising her eyebrow sensually. "I think we can wait a few more hours before continuing that training."

. . .

"I just don't understand!" Demeter wailed.

"I know, sister. I know," Athena patted her on the back, looking frustrated.

"Well, I for one am entirely sick of discussing this. What of the other problems of the world? Wars, Plague, those who are neglecting their worship?" Zeus slammed his fists down on the arms of his throne. "By the Styx, why can't we just make her a god and be done with it?!"

"Because," Athena held her hands up, as if she too was sick of talking about this matter. "She has not shown herself worthy. If Hades would just dip her in the Lethe, her connection to him would be severed—yes, even the connection made by the seeds—and she could return to Earth. Then, in a few years, perhaps she could prove herself worthy and be made a god that way. But as it is now… Hades is merely being selfish. My note was delivered; I know he received it. And yet he does nothing. I simply don't understand it."

"We need to find a way to force him to break the connection. You said it could be through a fight as well, right?" Poseidon surprised everyone by speaking; thus far he had remained fairly stoic about the whole thing.

"Yes… if he severed the ties emotionally it would have the same effect, except she would remember everything that happened. But honestly brother, I do not think he would do such a thing."

"Ah, but fights happen naturally."

"But," Hermes said. "When I deliver the souls… I don't know how to explain it. It's almost as if the whole Underworld is… happier. I don't know how, but I think Persephone has something to do with it. I don't know that something like that can be severed."

"She makes him happy," Aphrodite spoke quietly, looking to Ares even as she sat on the right side of Hephaestus. "He controls the realm—when she is happy, he is happy, and thus his realm flourishes. I believe she has a good effect on him. And I am a huge fan of romance."

"Yes, we know. But thank you, Sister. I am sorry, friends, but we must move on." Zeus did not, in fact, look too upset to be moving on. "There is something going on down on Earth. I mean… something worse than usual. It seems that there is someone down there spreading rumors of the gods… that we are cruel, and not worth worshipping. We ignored this group at first, because they did not appear to have any significant effect on the humans. But lately, more and more humans have stopped their worship. Some even dare to spit on our temples, or even tear them down. There is something going on down there."

"Why do we not simply smite them all?" Ares threw his hands in the air, as if it were just that simple.

"Brother, while I understand why this would be a good option, I cannot help but feel that there is something more going on here. I don't think smiting any of the humans would help us. If anything, it could stir up more trouble. This group… at least, the ones who lead it… we don't think they're human. Or at least, not completely human. We cannot find them."

There were gasps all around the circle as he said the words.

"How…?" Demeter was so shocked, she stopped crying. She hiccupped softly.

"I don't know."

"Perhaps one of your children have figured out a way to do it?"

"No, Apollo, I like to think not. I don't know of any demigod powerful enough to do that."

"I don't know, brother. Persephone has done a pretty good job of it," Hermes sniggered.

Zeus glared at him, looking nervously to Demeter, but she just gave a grim smile.

"He's right," she said. "The closer she draws to Hades, the weaker her connection is with me. I can no longer tell her emotions, let alone where she is. Hades needs to break the connection with her soon, or it will be too late, and I will have lost all contact with her forever."

The other Olympians stared sympathetically at her. It was a feeling they all understood—that of a young one leaving the nest. The problem was, with each passing day, Earth grew more cold and weary. In fact, Demeter's suffering was doing nothing to help the humans bad feelings toward the gods.

Athena left the room, gesturing for Zeus to follow her. Once they were alone, she pressed two fingers to her forehead. "I fear, Zeus, that if we do not act soon it will be too late. Something _must _be done. We must meet with him. Bring Poseidon if you must, but we have to do something, or Earth will fall from our control completely."

. . .

Persephone sliced the head of the straw dummy clean off, and laughed breathlessly, spinning the new sword in her hand.

It was a gift from Hades, and it fit her perfectly. Long and thin, it was light enough for her to swing and tough enough to cut through almost anything. The blade was made of some kind of metal that was completely black, and the hilt was wrapped in fine leather (made from something she didn't want to think about) that melded to her hand but did not dig into her palm. It fit her perfectly, since it was made for her left-handedness, and the end of the hilt bore a jewel that matched the violet shade of her eyes.

"I think I have come up with a new name for you!" Hades called from the other end of the room.

"Oh? And what is that?" She spun, driving the sword into another dummy, and hissing in delight as it crumbled to the ground.

"Cutlass. Yes, I like that quite a lot."

"Do you now? Well," she said, walking over to him and holding the sword up to his neck. "I'm glad, because I like it too."

Hades chortled. "If your mother could see you now."

Persephone shook her head. "I shudder to think if she knew _anything_ I have done in the past few months. Not that I care. Hades?"

"Mmm?" He nudged the sword aside, and stepped in close to her.

"I think…"

"Yes?" He held up his hands to cup her face, and kissed her forehead.

"I think I'm ready to go back out to the souls."

He looked at her for a moment, calculating how serious her. She nodded to him, the same way she had the night before, and reached up to touch his chest.

"Hades. They can't even take my soul—you have it. I can fight them… I know I can. And besides…" She trailed off, and decided to try that thing he'd told her they'd be able to do once they made love. _You can talk to me any time you want anyway._

Hades blinked, his jaw dropping.

_I take it that worked?_ She thought, imagining her thoughts going across a line and meeting his eyes.

_Yes,_ he thought back.

It was truly the strangest experience—it made her mind tingle softly, yet was clear as ice. She loved it.

"Very well," he said. "Not that you need my permission, but you may go. Actually…" He stepped back from her, until he was about ten feet away. "I remember, several weeks ago, discovering something about you. I believe," he paused, as if for dramatic effect. "I believe that you are developing your own mists."

Persephone raised her eyebrows, and looked around her, not seeing anything.

"Stop, stop. You aren't doing this correctly. You have to focus. Just like you did when you were trying to communicate with me. Concentrate on finding them—they are as much a part of you as… well… your soul, not that that will be much help here. Try it."

Persephone closed her eyes, and dutifully tried. She felt the ground around her, felt the air, felt the presence of her lover across the room. With all of her will power, she focused on weaving the air; melding it and knitting it so that it was thick and heavy. But still, she wouldn't look. She was too afraid that it wouldn't work.

_Open your eyes,_ thought Hades, and the words were so reminiscent of when she had first arrived that they sent a chill down her back.

Slowly, she complied.

She was surrounded in silvery air, thick and malleable as water. She grinned, and willed them to rush out to meet Hades.

He closed his eyes as they wove together, spinning upward in a vortex. She too, was not prepared for the sensation, and suddenly felt the urge to let out a loud moan.

They separated, and then replaced their mists with their bodies.

"I… I have never met anyone like you, and I don't think I ever shall again," he said, running her silky hair through his rough hands.

She smiled, and cocked her head, curious as to what he meant.

"You can control the powers of the Underworld, as well as the powers of the light—plants. Yet you remain totally oblivious to the things you could do with that power… you remain uncorrupted. You remain whole. I don't know how you do it, but you seem completely unaffected by the raw strength you hold. You, my dear Cutlass, are a force of nature, and one that any warrior worth his sword would be careful to cross."

She blushed from his complement, and turned, gripping her sword harder in her hand. "So does this mean I can transport myself, then?"

"I suppose so, if that is what you wish," he said.

She nodded, and closed her eyes again. Without waiting for instruction, she focused on weaving the mists around herself. At the same time, she focused on the dark realm of the souls—on the dead trees, and the darkness.

Then, biting her lip, she opened her eyes.

. . .

Hades walked to the main entrance to his home, and pressed a hand to the door. His mists climbed up the door, until they coated it completely, and he focused on the destination he wanted to go—the meeting place to which he had been called by Zeus.

Once he felt the door secure the place, he let the mists fall away, and opened the great door.

He stepped into a white, circular room—a creation of Athena's, no doubt.

In front of him stood Athena, Zeus, and Poseidon, all bearing grave expressions, and he felt his heart sink.

. . .

Persephone walked among the souls, reveling in her new talent. She practiced, using her mists to move quickly through the souls, and trying to find any trace of something strange. It was then that she realized—she could feel Hades emotions. He was sad. So sad, that she wanted to just reach out and hold him. But there was something else there, too. Anger. And pride. And stubbornness. The stubbornness was the easiest to recognize. She reached out to him.

. . .

Zeus spoke first, attempting to tell him without crushing him. "I'm sorry, brother."

"You promised me. You _promised_. It has only been four months."

"I know, brother." Zeus had the decency to look ashamed. "But problems on Earth grow worse. The humans are nearing outright rebellion against us, and Demeter's sadness only makes things worse."

"Then, with all due respect to Demeter, why can she not simply… deal with it?"

Athena shook her head. "You don't understand, Hades. She feels the connection that we all feel to our children grow weaker as that between you and Persephone grows stronger. She feels as though she is losing control, and that is killing her."

"Then Demeter needs to grow up. It's about time, I say." Hades crossed his arms stubbornly

"Brother!" Poseidon spoke harshly, no longer willing to keep silent. "You know that I have tried to support you—I know what you are going through! I know what it is like to have to suffer love—we all do! We're all gods, same as you! But this has gone too far. You sacrifice things that are too valuable for her."

"I love her," he whispered. He could feel Persephone's thoughts pull at him, like a waiting message, but he would not answer. He could not appear to be distracted in front of these people.

"Love is noble, brother," Athena said. "But it is not the most noble cause of all. And, as Poseidon has said… you go too far."

"I disagree." Hades said grimly.

"I… I beg your pardon?"

"I disagree with you. I have learned, in my time with her, that love is the most noble cause of all. It is worth dying for, and sacrificing for, and suffering for. I will not give up."

"You try our patience, brother, and we will not stand for any more excuses. You have one week. One week, to sort this out… I don't care what you do, be it dipping her in the Lethe or whatever else it is you plan on, but I want this done. I want her returned to Earth, and I want Demeter satisfied. Her duties may not be the most important of all, but they are important enough. Without her, the humans will rise up. And while one human is not enough, if they all rise against us… if they all take arms and refuse to worship… they shall drag us into war. And war with Earth is a very grave thing indeed. And it is much more important than your supposed love for this girl."

They began to fade, as they returned to Olympus.

"Oh, and one more thing, Hades. We have been unable to track the Blood Drinker. We don't know who he is affiliated with, but we believe that he has something to do with these uprisings. We shall continue to look."

. . .

Persephone used her mists to transport back to the welcoming hall. She had felt his emotions swing wildly from hatred, to fear, to anguish. But he had refused to use their mental link and talk to her.

She stood in front of the door until it creaked open, and he came stepping through.

She placed her hands on her hips, ready to ask him why he wouldn't talk to her, when she noticed the way his shoulders slumped, and his eyes focused on the floor.

She rushed forward, and put her hands on his shoulders, leaning in so their foreheads met.

_It didn't go well, did it? _She asked. She knew, by now, that if he was this depressed, it had to be because of the Olympians… the other Olympians, whom she had grown to hate, for the damage they inflicted on her love.

"No, Mea, it didn't." he replied.

It was clear that he would not elaborate, so she sighed, and wove her own mists around them both, taking them up to his room.

Once safely there, she pulled him into a tight hug.

"You don't have to tell me," she whispered. "Whatever it is, we're going to be alright. This is going to be alright."

Hades let himself be loved; he returned her affections, and wrapped his own arms around her. But he let a silent tear escape his eye—the first that he had shed in so many years.

"You're right—of course you're right," he replied softly. But he drew up his mental walls, letting her feel only his love. Because, deep in his heart, he knew that it wouldn't be fine. He knew, that regardless of what he said now, everything was going to be different in a week. And that thought terrified him.

. . . . .

Another chapter! We're getting there, folks! Closer and closer to the edge, we go. I fear that soon we shall topple over. ;) I hope you like, and that this makes up for the fluff of the last two chapters. Reviews are love!


	15. Chapter 15: The Yielding

It was pointed out to me recently that chapters 14 and 15 are the same-thank you! I had no idea! So here it is!

. . . . .

Hades paced his bedroom. He didn't know what to do. Surely, the easiest thing to do would be to dip her in the Lethe. But easy wasn't safe, and Hades knew that the moment Persephone set foot back on the upper world, she would be in danger once more, and if he immersed her in the river of forgetfulness, she would forget everything about her time in the Underworld… including her training. She would forget the ways of the sword, her powers… even the fact that she was a demigod.

And… perhaps most important of all, she would forget him. She would forget them. She would forget everything they had shared… their very connection.

He knew it was selfish. He knew that he shouldn't hide anything from her, that he should just tell her everything and they could figure it out together. But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of a way she could possibly help. It would just make things worse… at least… he thought it would.

Sitting heavily into his chair, he shoved his hands through his jagged, dark hair and sighed. He really only had two options. And he didn't like either of him.

. . .

She fingered the sword tip and sighed. He was refusing to talk to her—whether by mind or by speaking, and she couldn't help but feel that there was something going on, and that it was worse than anything he had told her.

She wandered the castle, taking her sword out of its sheath every now and again to look at it. Amazing, that she should care so much about a weapon. She never would have before she came down here, to the darkness.

She made her way to the double doors—the ones that opened up to the Underworld. And, for a second time, she through them open.

If he wouldn't give her the answers she wanted, she would find them herself.

. . .

He opened his desk and pulled out the clear stone that sat there. Then he pulled out a smooth metal bowl, about the size of a dinner plate and only a little deeper than one.

He put the stone inside the bowl, and concentrated.

. . .

She stepped down the stairs, and toward the River Styx. Kneeling at its banks, she peered into the river.

. . .

He began to mutter in ancient Greek; words like 'seer' and 'answer' and 'prophecy' spilling forth and hissing around the room. His mists frothed and roiled, curling up to the ceiling and around him and thickening. Slowly, they pooled into the bowl, and began to form a picture.

. . .

She watched as the boat went by, slow as a snail and silent as a grave. Charon nodded as he passed, and she noted that the boat was packed tight with passengers. They were all depressed-looking, as if they had just received the worst news possible—which she supposed they had.

They all seemed to know who she was, which she thought was strange. They all bowed as deeply as they could to her, being so close together and on a boat.

She noticed that one of the beings on the boat looked peculiarly small and… almost deflated. She raised an eyebrow, and stood slowly, smoothing out her trousers. She eyed the boat until it had passed completely and disappeared into the darkness, and then she placed her hands on her hips. She would need to explore this.

. . .

Hades watched as the image grew clearer and clearer, and he rubbed his face, pressing his fingers into his eyes. This was going to kill him, he just knew it. No matter that he was immortal.

Zeus's face finally came into view, looking rather annoyed to be bothered. "What is it, brother?" he asked.

"You're right." Hades' mouth was pressed into a thin line, his hands folded before him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're right. I should never have let this go this far, and for that I apologize. I will fix this."

Zeus looked shocked. "I…I'm glad that you have finally come to your senses, but I must ask… does this mean that you have found a solution?"

Hades remained silent, looking at his brother with dark eyes and trying to tell him without saying what he meant.

Zeus's brow narrowed, and he leaned forward, drawing closer in the glass. "You aren't going to take her to the Lethe, are you?"

Hades sighed, feeling the weight of the world sink onto his shoulders. "No, brother. I'm not."

"Would you care to tell me what you _are _going to do?"

. . .

She gathered her mists around her, feeling them wrap her like a blanket, and when she opened her eyes, she was in the fields with the souls.

She began to walk around, trying to find souls that looked different from the rest. The souls parted before her path, more so than they did before, and she had a feeling they had done it when she had ventured there earlier, when she had first discovered her mists, but she had not noticed it since she was focusing so much on Hades.

. . .

"Why should you care?"

"What do you mean? Of course we care about you, brother." Zeus looked frustrated with telling Hades that he was not worthless.

"I mean, what do you care what I do with her? As long as Demeter knows she's on earth again, she won't give a damn about her."

"Now, Hades—"

"Don't you 'Now Hades' me. I'm done listening to her, and them, and even you. I'm doing everything you ask, despite my feelings or hers. What. Should. You. Care?"

Zeus closed his eyes momentarily. "I'm sorry brother. But are you going to do it now? Don't you think you should wait? You have four more days, after all."

"What difference would it make? Four days, or four hundred, there's nothing I can do. Perhaps now the Olympians will focus on the task at hand, instead of persecuting me for something that could never be a bad thing. I shall do it tonight. Goodbye, brother."

He was about to reach in and remove the stone when Zeus held up his hands.

"Wait! Wait. What are you going to do? Please tell me. Perhaps I can help. If you're going to destroy her memories, then—"

"Goodbye."

. . .

Finally. After hours of walking, she had found one of them. He was wandering around by one of the white trees, and shaking. She walked up to him, slowly so as not to disturb him, and tried to spy what had made him so haggard, but she couldn't spot it.

He looked around at her and spoke suddenly, startling her. "Well? You going to talk to me or just stand there?"

She stepped hesitantly forward, and stood in front of him.

"What do you want to ask me, girl?" His eyes looked tired, and he leaned heavily against the tree.

"Well… What… I mean… how exactly did you come to look like this?"

"What, this?" He gestured to himself as if there was nothing to see. "It's simple. Really, Queen, I would have expected you to know. I had my blood drained."

"And by whom—wait a moment. Did you just call me 'Queen?'?"

. . .

Hades put the bowl away slowly, and fingered the crystal on his chest. He wished there was a different way to do this. He wished he knew who the blood drinker was and why he was starting the riots. He wished…

He stopped, slamming his fists into his table. Wishing was for fools.

He stood, cloak swirling behind him, and then abruptly sat back down again. He opened one of his drawers, to reveal the raven pin.

Taking it out, he left the room, mists following him like loyal dogs.

. . .

"Well, of course I called you Queen. It's what you are, isn't it?"

"I… I don't know. Is it?"

"It would appear so. I can't tell you why, but the moment I set foot in this place, I felt it. It's like an invisible string, attached to all of us and connecting us to you. I expect that you would be able to summon us at your will, if you wished."

"But what could you do? You're all just dead people, and that's all. No offense…"

"None taken. But, with all due respect, you are one of the blessed few who know that we are only passed souls. You'd probably be able to get us to scare people. And if you summoned soldiers, I imagine they'd be able to attack just as well as you can. Quite a power you have."

Persephone felt a chill at his words. Could she really summon the dead? It would be rather pointless to try now, but she would have to try in when she was not in a field of souls.

. . .

Hades wrapped the pin in a piece of cloth, and fetched a little bag attached to a string. It would serve his purpose just fine. He wove a map out of the mists, rolled it into a scroll and placed it in the bag with the pin. Then (and this part nearly ripped out his hear) he reached up and pulled the string with her crystal over his head. Holding it before his eyes, he brought it close and kissed it gently, feeling the pulsing warmth of her heartbeat, though she was miles away. Then he put it into the bag as well.

He reached out, and tried to feel for Persephone without letting her know.

. . .

"Anyway… so you had your blood drained. Do you know who did it?"

The man shifted, looking distinctly more uncomfortable. "I could never forget that face. But I don't know his name—if I'm completely honest, I don't think he has one."

Persephone felt cold fear grip her heart, though she didn't know who the blood drinker was. "What did he look like?"

The man closed his eyes, as if remembering. "He had… white eyes. Not completely white, but pale, as if he was blind. All his teeth were sharp… it's how he drained me," he paused, pushing the clothing off of one ghostly shoulder. A huge round bite mark lay there, made from what looked like dozens of teeth. It looked nasty, as if whoever had made it had raked their teeth repeatedly over the wound. "He pulled me away from the other people. He had been wearing a hood… then he shoved me against the wall and bit me. I don't know why, but from the moment his teeth touched my neck, I couldn't move. No matter how hard I tried, I was numb. I watched myself die, without being able to do a single thing. It was terrifying."

He looked ready to be done talking about it, as if he just wanted to get on with his afterlife, but she wasn't finished.

"Is there anything else? Did he say anything?"

The man's eyes opened, and he looked suddenly very frightened.

"He did. He said, 'I Remember.'"

Persephone's eyes widened, as a thought dawned on her. She held up her hands excitedly, as the man slid tiredly to the ground.

"Thank you. Thank you!" She began to weave her mists up around her once more.

"Glad to be of assistance!" He called after her.

. . .

Hades put his fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply. He stood in the front hall, bag in hand. After a moment or two, the front doors flew open and the giant black form of and Errinye came flapping in.

"Masster," she said, bowing.

"I want you to take this," he said slowly.

The Errinye nodded, but stared up at him, feathered brow rising.

He intercepted her question. "I cannot tell you at the moment what I am planning. But I need you to take these, and when you feel the change—and you will, don't worry—come back here and I will tell you what to do then. That is all. Thank you."

He turned to dismiss her, but was stopped by her voice.

"Masster?"

He turned; she never spoke out of turn. "Yes?"

"I'm sssorry for you sssir."

His heart stopped for a moment. "How… how do you…"

"Masster." She nodded to him, and flew out.

. . .

Persephone materialized into her room, and couldn't help but notice how unfamiliar it felt after sleeping in Hades' room. She could hear noises in the Great Hall, and knew that Hades was there, but she had to write this down now, while she still remembered it.

She materialized a piece of papyrus and a feathered quill, just as she had seen Hades do it, and sat on her bed, next to her bedside table.

She had only written five words when she heard calling in her mind, and got up to go to him.

_He's with the Titans—Themis?_

. . . . .

Another late night update—sorry about that. Looks like Persephone has figured it out… but was she in time? If I get a lot reviews in the next two days, I'll update the next chapter then, instead of at the end of the week. Sort of a Thanksgiving gift of sorts. Thanks always, and much love.


	16. Chapter 16: The Breaking

Because I love you so much… though you might not love me, after this…

. . . . .

He waited in the main hall, hands clasped behind him. He could hear her coming; hear her light footsteps echo through his castle and his mind, and he felt his heart slow, the blood rushing to his ears and ringing. He was deafened by his own treachery.

"Hades!" She appeared, breathless with excitement over something. "I've found—"

"Stop." He said sharply, his voice cutting across her and stunning her into silence.

But not for long.

"But… Hades… I've found… what is it?"

"I'm done, girl. The joke is up."

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, her voice quavering a bit.

Hades steeled himself, clenching his fists beneath his robes. "I mean…" he had to pause momentarily, almost choking on his own words. "I don't love you. I never did love you," he put as much venom as he could into his words, and the only thing that comforted him was the thought that he was saving her.

"I told you once, Hades. I. Don't. Fear. You." Her words were as sharp as his, but there was a hint of uncertainty to them, like a bird that had been told she would never fly.

"I used you to hurt Demeter, and get the other gods to do what I want. That's all we were. That's all we are. That's all _you are_. Don't be foolish, girl." He stopped for a moment, and examined his hands, as if this was something he did not care about at all. "Just accept the fact that I don't care about you. Be sensible."

Her breathing had grown more rapid, and some part of him began to fray. It felt as if someone had taken a knife to his heart. "Y-you lie," she said shakily.

"I assure you girl, I do not. I swear on the River Styx, that I feel hatred for this, and hatred alone. Fear me. Fear the dark."

That seemed to have started it, at lease.

Persephone fell to her knees, palms smacking against the rock. There were little holes forming all over her; tiny pinpricks of light that told him she was fading, and being sent back to the above world. She sobbed, hair covering her face, and it was all he could do not to fall beside her; take her in his arms and comfort her. Then she looked up at him with those brilliant violet eyes, shining with the first time with a completely foreign emotion, one that he had never thought he would see in her eyes.

Betrayal.

But he had not completely severed the bond yet; he couldn't have, because she was still here. And it _killed _him that he was doing this to her; it made him ache with a pain as sharp as any knife. But he had to, because if he didn't, he could never forgive himself. Well, he couldn't really forgive himself now, but that wasn't the point.

Even as he said those words, he could see on that Persephone didn't quite believe him. He thought, long and hard of all he knew about her, and the right words he could say to break her. The right words to save her.

"It would be foolish to fear the dark. It shows the truth." Her words were bitter, but seeking, as if she still expected him to take back all he had said, and pull her into his arms just as he wanted to. She looked up at him with a pleading expression, eyes still shining with…love.

That love gave him an idea. He knew now, just what to say. He would save her after all.

"Wait just a moment," he said slowly. "You don't _love _me_,_ do you?" He laughed in her face, watching as she looked up at him. He could feel her heart shatter into pieces just as he felt his own crumble quietly into dust. "Oh you do, that's perfect. You really make this all too easy, _Mea._ Why would anyone ever love _you_? Why, in the name of the gods, would anyone ever want anything to do with _you_, when there are so many more beautiful than you? I mean, those eyes? So ugly. You weren't even that hard to seduce; you really are naïve. I guess it's just part of who you are. To quote you, it's _'what makes you you.'_ Pathetic."

As he spoke, he could see her wilt; she shrank closer and closer to the floor, as if every word were a vicious blow to her very soul. The holes had grown bigger, to the point where she was almost completely gone.

He took out the scroll—the one that had signed her to his will, to his secrecy, and held it in the palm of his hand. As she watched, it caught fire, and crumbled to ash.

One more blow ought to do it.

"You are the weakest, most cowardly person I have ever known, _Persephone_, and I _hate_ you."

That was enough.

She gave a last, strangled cry that tore at his heart, and, in an explosion of light, faded completely.

He fell to his knees, much the same way that she had just done, and pressed his fists to his eyes, and pulled at his black hair. He could never forgive himself, but he had done it.

"My moon," he whispered.

He had saved her.

. . . . ,.

Well, I think that's quite enough out of me for one week, unless you all can't stand to have your Thanksgivings with such a sad note from my soooo influential fanfiction *rolls eyes.

Thanks for the love (though you might not be feeling it after this last chapter), as always. Reviews (even bad ones) make me feel like less of a loser XD

Edit: someone reported me because of the lemon chapter -_- so I have removed it. Sorry guys.


	17. Chapter 17: The Ashes

Persephone kept her eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't help but let a few sobs choke out of her mouth, but stopped, coughing, when she inhaled some dirt. Dirt! Why, she hadn't felt real dirt in so long. Finally, slowly, she cracked her swollen eyes open.

. . .

Hades tried to pull himself together. He stood up, he straightened his shirt and cloak, he whistled for the Errinye. But it felt like he was going through the motions. In fact, he felt as though he could no longer feel anything.

The Errinye appeared before him, and bowed low, still holding the bag. She looked up at him, more frightened and sad than he had ever seen her. But still she stood, willing to obey him to the end.

"You've got everything?" He asked quietly. She nodded. "Good. I have two more things…" He trailed off, pausing to form a dagger and a black cloak from the mists. He gave them to her. "You can still feel where she is?"

The Fury shook her head hesitantly, as if she didn't want the news to upset him. "No, but she shouldn't be too difficult to find."

"Alright. Take them to her." He turned away from her.

The Fury started to head for the doors, but stopped right before she left. "What have you done?" She whispered.

. . .

She pushed herself up, drying her eyes. Even in the shrouded twilight, it was almost too bright for her to open her eyes, and as it was, they burned and stung as if…well, as if she hadn't been out in the daylight for months.

Thunder boomed overhead, and a light-but-cold rain fell down.

The first thing she noticed was how _cold_ it was. Her breath froze in front of her, and her eyelashes immediately began to stick to one another. She didn't know where she was, but there was a heavy mist—the natural kind this time, instead of that created by…_him—_all around her, making it hard for her to see. But there were faint pinpricks of light in the distance that surely meant a town.

With a last ragged breath, she bullied her courage. She would not be broken by this. This would _not _crush her spirit. It would not. She was stronger than that. She would just…not think about it.

She started toward the lights, tripping slightly over the frozen earth.

. . .

The Fury flew, higher than any normal bird and faster as well. Her keen eyes could see a mouse in a bush three miles away, and she knew she would find the girl soon.

. . .

Hades went up to his study. He sat in his chair. Then he conjured up a large cup of wine.

. . .

As Persephone trudged along, she could hear a faint keening in the distance, like the mourning of a church bell, and she recognized it as that of the Errinye. She sped up.

. . .

The girl was close. The Fury realized that she could still feel her—the fainted pull on her heart, as if a string was tugging it toward her former Queen, and she smiled. Perhaps there was still hope.

. . .

He got out the Seeing Bowl again, placed the stone in it, and made the call.

. . .

There! The Fury grinned, and swooped down toward the girl. She could see Persephone turn, a look of terror on her face, and then break out into a full-on sprint. As much as this hurt, it made the Errinye smile. There was no way the girl could outrace a creature of the Underworld.

. . .

Zeus's face appeared, looking sickeningly elated. Hades wanted to punch him in the face, before remembering that it was only his image.

"You've done it, brother."

"Aye. I have. She is free of my 'spell.' Congratulations."

Zeus seemed to start a little at the tone of Hades' voice, and his brow furrowed. "What is it, brother? This is what we all wanted!"

"No, brother, I must say it is not."

"Well, why are you moping _now?_ Surely it's what the girl wanted, and it's what all the Olympians want… I suppose it's not really what you wanted, but you'll get over it, really Hades, I'm sure you will—"

"Stop. Stop trying to make this better, Zeus. Because you can't. This won't get better, because it _isn't _what she wanted. And it's not what I wanted. It's only what you wanted. And you didn't even care about her."

"Brother—"

"No. I'm done, brother. Done talking with you, done being civil. I did what you asked, now leave me to my duty. Leave me alone. And tell Demeter I hope she's happy." He removed the stone.

. . .

Persephone let out a shattered cry, exhausted from all the crying she'd been doing. She stumbled forward through the mist, not knowing where she was going or where she was running from. The sounds were getting closer and closer behind her, a combination of flapping wings and screeching laughter. She took another step, and her tired body gave out, making her collapse to the cold earth.

The Errinye landed behind her, taking a few running steps to stop.

Persephone turned toward her, bringing her hands up to shield her face from whatever the fury had planned.

. . .

A knock sounded against his door, and Hades rested his head on his arms, not caring particularly who it was. "Come in," he said quietly.

The door flew open, revealing a very distressed Corbin. "What in the name of all the Titans have you _done, _Hades?!"

"It's nice to see you too, Corbin," Hades said, letting out a low chuckle. "I take it you were unsuccessful in discovering what I sent you out to find?"

"Why are you speaking in such a manner? You've sent her away; there's no need to speak in such a guarded way. By the way, I repeat myself; what on the Styx have you done?"

"I did what I was told to do, no more, no less."

"By crushing her? What have you accomplished?"

. . .

Persephone let out a loud sob as the Fury clenched a tight hand over her arm, but all that happened was that she was lifted into the air and set down on her feet. Still cowering slightly, she looked up at the ugly woman, who stood looking a bit exasperated.

"Really, girl. Ssstop your crying." The Fury folded her arms, which was how Persephone noticed the several objects she carried.

"Wh-what's that?" She sniffed.

"Thessse? Giftsss, from your former lover." The Fury held them out.

Persephone raised an eyebrow, feeling a sick feeling pool into her stomach. "I don't want anything from him. What's he sending them for, anyway?"

"Obviousssly for your protection."

"Why would he want to protect me?" Her tone was bitter, and the Fury noticed.

"Oh, girl. You can be quite ssstupid."

. . .

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Talk to her? Actually tell her what's going on and let her help you think of a solution? Certainly not… whatever this is. If this is what you call a solution, I hate to see what you do next."

"…I beg your pardon? What do you mean, 'next?'?" Hades looked puzzled.

"By the gods, man! You're going to work on getting her back—what else?!" Corbin stood in front of his master, looking more outraged than he had ever seen him.

"How could I possibly take her back? She would never look at me, after this. I deserve it, too," Hades had grown sulky again, leaning back in his chair and covering his face with his arm.

"Well, what are you planning on doing then? Letting her starve out there? Demeter might be done throwing a fit, but the Blood drinker is still out there! What do you plan on doing about that? Just letting her wander around in the upper world until she is raped or murdered or taken by the villain—"

"Stop." Hades stood from his chair suddenly, as if a brilliant idea had dawned on him.

"What is it?"

"I think… Persephone had something to say. She tried to tell me something, and then I just stopped her and got it over with. But what if…what if she found something out?"

"Well, I suppose we should go and check, shouldn't we?"

. . .

"Who are you, to call me stupid?" Persephone snarled. "I will not be treated like this! Your master is the one who sent me back here! Your master is the one who used me, just for his own personal gain, only to throw me out after he had taken everything I had to give!" Her voice dissolved into a wail, and her legs nearly gave out once more.

"Jusst ssstop. I have thingsss with me that you'll need to sssurvive. I cannot tell you… my massster asssked me not to tell…everything isss not asss it ssseemss. Do you hear me, girl?"

Persephone wiped furiously at her eyes, before staring up at the Errinye. "Wh-what? What do you—"

"Jussst take the giftsss, and ussse your powersss. Believe me, you'll need them. Oh, and I have a gift of my own to give." The Fury turned, put her fingers to her lips, and let loose a high, piercing whistle.

Persephone stared into the mists, and after a few moments, gasped as a black wolf came bounding out of the thickness. She recognized it as a hellhound from the fields, and swallowed hard as it came to a stop before them.

"Hiss name iss Ashling. He isss yoursss." The Fury gestured, and the wolf stepped forward, until it was nose to nose with Persephone.

Standing on all fours, his yellow eyes were level with hers. He was almost the size of a horse, only twice as terrifying. His thick, ruffled fur stood thickly, running down to his long tail. He was pure black, with the exception of a narrow strip running down the front of his nose. Those eyes. They bore an intelligence that Persephone had never seen in an animal. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, and why she was thinking it. Slowly, she raised a hand up in front of his nose. He sniffed it, letting great puffs of breath wash over her. Then he closed his eyes, and leaned into her hand, making a shiver run down her spine.

She knew she shouldn't accept the gift. She should cut off all ties with the man who had just broken her heart only moments ago. She should just meekly go back to society and pretend her time with Hades had never happened. But there was one problem. She was not one of the weaklings from the stories. She was not willing to play the part of the simpering lady, ready to let someone walk all over her. She was not going to pretend to be weak, because she was not weak. She had power. Power not just over plants, but over her own mind, and over her _own _soul. And while she had loved Hades with every fiber of her being, she would not be lost to insanity or regret over him. She would be strong.

So she turned to the Errinye and held her hand out. The Fury handed over a cloak first, made of the softest fur and the darkest material; Persephone put it on, and pulled the hood up over her hair. Next came a dagger and arm belt which she slipped up to her bicep under her arm. Then came a satchel. She didn't look to see what was in it then; only slipped it over her shoulder. She still (thankfully) had her black sword buckled to her waist. "Thank you," she said slowly to the Fury, her voice still shaking a bit.

The Fury bowed low to her, before standing and meeting her eyes. "May the moon guide you, my Queen." Then she turned, and disappeared into the sky in a rush of wind.

. . .

Hades ran down the stairs, cloak flying up behind him. He made his way to her room, but stopped at the door. Corbin came to a stop behind him.

"Hades, the sooner we find it, the better."

"Yes, yes, you're right. Of course you're right. Though it might not be here. She might not have known anything. She might have just wanted to tell me that… she loved me… or something." His voice broke a little at the end, but he still pushed the door open.

A wave of her scent—flowers and earth—washed over him so strongly that he nearly stumbled back. He walked further into the room, noticing how the bed was still a little messy from where she had just sat in it. He walked over to the spot, running his hand along it. Which was when he saw it.

Corbin had walked over to her dresser, searching the drawers for anything of use, but Hades had already found the gold.

He picked up the small piece of paper, and his eyes widened as he read those five words:

_He's with the Titans—Themis?_

"By the Styx… what have I done?"

. . .

Persephone turned to Ashling, and looked him in the eyes. "Would you mind terribly if I rode you?"

The wolf just blinked at her, but it didn't seem to be a terribly malicious blink, so Persephone nodded and went to his shaggy side. Grabbing a few fistfuls of fur, she tried to hoist herself up, but in the rain, her fingers just slipped out and sent her tumbling back. She tried putting her foot up first, but that just sent her flying back onto her bottom with an '_oof_.' Eventually she walked before Ashling, and gave him a pleading look.

The hellhound seemed to roll his eyes, but he gracefully lay down on all fours. Resting her hand on his head for a moment in thanks, she walked back and hoisted herself over him with ease.

After a moment, he stood. He raised his head to meet her eyes, as if to say, _you better hold on tight_, and then he took off toward the lights of the town.

Persephone yelped as she was thrown back and was quick to wind her hands through his thick black fur. Wind whipped in her face, and she leaned down as far as she could to try and keep warm. Even with all the cold, there was something freeing in the way the hound ran, as if the world didn't matter—as if all there was was running, and that was all there would ever be.

. . .

"What is it, Master?" Corbin seemed to have cooled down a bit; he had stopped calling Hades by his name, and walked calmly over to the bedside, where Hades had fallen to the bed.

"Look at this," Hades said slowly, holding a hand over his eyes.

Corbin took the note, and read it, brow furrowing. "But…what does it mean?"

"Don't you _see_, Corbin? She did it—she figured out who's behind all this. And I sent her into harm's way."

. . . . .

Back again! Three updates in a week, I'd say that makes up for all the gaps I had… Well, here I am, though you might not really want to see me still… *is shot* thank you as always for any review you have for me, be it critique or compliment, and I hope I didn't kill any of you!

I've decided to start responding to every review. So tell me what you think!

**SangoIchimaru:** I'm sorry! Really! I hope you're healing ok XD

**Rachie-girl: **Your comment had my friends and I laughing solidly for about ten minutes. It made my day. Seriously. It was absolutely fantastic.

**Lewilder:** Thank you for the review, and I'm glad you don't feel so daunted anymore, even if it was caused by my meanness.

And don't worry, all of you! I haven't given up on these two quite yet, and you shouldn't either!


	18. Chapter 18: The First Killing

I was listening to 'Home,' by Michael Buble while I was writing this. Somehow it totally reminds me of Persephone haha.

"E-excuse me? Do you know of some place I could find rest?" She had found the nicest-looking buy in the bar.

He looked up from where he was sitting and grinned. "Well, boy, I don't know. I can think of a few. Depends on what kinda girl you want."

She squinted at him, trying to figure out what he meant by that. Obviously he thought she was a boy. But what did he mean by girls…oh. It dawned on her in a rush, and she stumbled back dazedly. "That's not…I mean… I don't…"

"What's wrong? Ain't you a man yet?" He raised his dark eyebrow at her, leaning back in his seat and folding his muscled arms across his chest.

She shook her head, backing up a bit more. She didn't see the person sitting at the table behind her until it was too late. She fell against the person, and her hood fell back, revealing her long curly hair.

"Well well, what do we have here?" The first man stood up, inching toward her.

Persephone had thought she would be safer in such a crowded bar, but apparently she had been wrong.

"Why, Anne…is that you?' The man said suddenly, rushing right up close to her.

She threw up her hands, ready to fight. She knew if she drew her sword or knife as a woman, she would draw unwanted attention to herself. The most important thing right now was for her to remain anonymous. Not that she was being very successful at it.

"Why," The man put his arm around her, appearing to give her an affectionate hug but clamping her arms to her sides. "It's my long lost niece!"

"No—NO!" She cried out, thrashing her arms. For whatever reason this man was pretending to be her relative, and she had a feeling it wasn't good.

Some people in the crowded bar had noticed what was going on, but they apparently weren't going to do anything about it.

The man made his way to the door, dragging the struggling Persephone along with him. He dragged her out into the rain, and around to an alleyway.

She tried to scream, but the man stuffed a thick rag in her mouth. She reached for her sword, and found that it was gone. Looking up, she saw the man holding her sword belt and arm band with her knife. He was holding a sword of his own, pressed to her stomach.

As he advanced, Persephone got the sinking feeling that now, after all that had happened, she was going to die.

. . .

"You have to listen to me!"

"Now Hades—"

"Don't! Don't 'Now Hades' me. She had figured it out. She _knew_, and I sent her away!"

"It was for the best. She'll be safer in her own world—"

"No! You don't understand! He'll know! He'll know she found out who his master is—he'll find her. And—"

Hades stopped suddenly, not looking into the bowl but staring into space, clutching his heart.

"Hades? Brother? Are you alright?" Zeus's worried face leaned in closer, and trying to tell what was wrong. "Hades? Stop it. Whatever you're thinking, don't do it. If you go above, I swear—" but Hades jus removed the stone, erasing the image.

"Corbin," Hades called softly.

"Yes sir?" Corbin stepped out from the shadows, carrying a tray with tea. "What is it?"

"I can still feel her," Hades breathed. "And she's afraid."

. . .

The man slammed Persephone against the wall, pinning her arms above her head. She tried to fight back, scratching and kicking and trying to scream through the rag. But the man just brought his hand up and covered her nose, effectively stopping her breathing.

She struggled even more after that, but to no avail.

"You think this is my first time fighting a skilled woman? Ha! The stronger they are, the more fun they are to break."

As her movements slowed, he started to pull down her pants. And in that moment of complete panic, Persephone decided to try one last thing.

_Ash?_ She called out with her mind, trying to feel the presence of her great black hellhound. _Ash, can you hear me? Hades? _Tears streamed silently down her face as stars danced across her vision and the world began to darken.

Then, out of the darkness and through her ringing ears, she heard a great "WOOF!"

The man jumped away from her, and she ripped the filthy rag from her mouth as her knees crumpled and she fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Ash came to stand over her, growling ferociously. The man backed away, holding up his hands in surrender. He kicked the forgotten sword out of the way and backed toward the end of the alleyway, fear and cowardice clear in his eyes.

Persephone was ready to let him go, still spitting out the awful taste of the rag.

But as he turned to run, Ash spoke into her mind. _He knows that you are with me. He knows that you are special. If someone comes asking questions, he will have answers._

Persephone felt a sick feeling take the place of the fear in her stomach, but she nodded, letting her eyes harden. Ash was right.

. . .

"How is this possible? How can I still feel her? How can the connection still be there?"

"I don't know, sir."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I mean, I don't know everything, sir." Corbin set down the tea tray on Hades' desk and folded his arms. "But, if I had to guess, I would say that she didn't completely give up on you. Even after all those stupid things you said to her, the fool still loves you, even if it means more pain for her. I doubt she's even admitted that to herself yet, and the connection will probably weaken as time goes on, and she accepts that you truly…er… well, that you truly hate her."

Hades leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his dark hair and thinking on this new development. "So," he said, "does this mean she'll be able to control the dead?"

. . .

Persephone calmed her nerves, and closed her eyes. Reaching out, she felt the roots, dead and alive, old and new, that resided in the earth. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the life force she could feel in the man, who was now running at break-neck speed away from her and through the rainy village.

Stretching out her fingers, she made a swift _snapping _motion.

She felt what happened to him only a split-second before he screamed. Wincing, she stepped shakily out onto the empty street, leaning heavily on Ash.

There stood the man. Well, he stood in a manner of speaking. She hung, leaning backward as if in a trance, impaled on a long branch that stuck, jagged, out of the wet street. Blood dripped out of his mouth and down his chin, and the blood from his chest wound pooled down around his feet. His eyes were open in fear, still searching wildly as if to find what had attacked him.

Slowly, and barely managing not to hyperventilate, she walked up to him.

He made little gurgling, choking noises, and his eyes focused vaguely on her. "Little… bitch…" he spat, eyes wavering.

With that, her indecision and fear went away, to be replaced by her newfound strength. "Say hello to Hades for me." She said coldly.

With that, the light went out of his eyes, and his soul left with a last parting breath. Then she walked away, pulling her cloak over her head.

Ash walked alongside her, occasionally peering at her with his yellow eyes, as if questioning but not wanting to waste the effort of talking to her mentally. No one had noticed the corpse yet, but they were bound to soon, and Ash wanted to be gone when that happened. After all, it was only a matter of time before the Blood Drinker (and his mistress) discovered that Persephone was no longer safe in the Underworld. The Hellhound growled softly at the thought of Hades' stupidity. He was undyingly loyal to his master, but now his loyalty stood with both Persephone and Hades. And dividing that loyalty was not smart. It tested the hound in ways that he didn't like, even though Hades undoubtedly still held feelings for the girl. Not that he could tell her that. The foolish king had sworn them all into secrecy.

Flicking his ears back toward the fading village, he heard a sudden faint scream, followed by angry shouts and the sound of many feet splashing through the muddy road.

_My lady,_ he whispered into her mind.

Persephone jumped, but turned to look at him with open eyes.

_Not to disturb you, but I really think you should get on my back right about now._ He knelt to the ground, and Persephone's eyebrows crinkled in dismay. Her eyes flitted for a split-second back to the village, before leaping onto the back of the hound and running into the darkness.

. . .

In the deepest parts of the shadows, where the air was deathly still and the smell of sickness and cold hung in the air; where even the bravest or worst sinners shied away and fled—here, here, rested the daemon.

He lifted his nose to the air, taking a deep breath and smelling the blood of a tainted human. With the sound like a dying breath, he melted into the shadows, reappearing in the darkest alleyway of the chaotic village. Peering out, he followed his keen nose to where a small crowd was gathered in front of the impaled body of a villager.

The Blood Drinker smiled, revealing his shark teeth. This event was sure to go down into the village's history. He had to respect whoever had done this (and he was fairly certain he knew who had done this), for they had done a really excellent job of making sure the man died painfully but quickly. That was clean work. Not that he was jealous; no one's work was cleaner than his. He chuckled a little at that thought, and then lifted his nose to the air again, ignoring all the villagers and their planning and insanity.

With a dark smile, he began to leap from shadow to shadow. He had found her.

. . .

Zeus had gathered the other Olympians, most of who were rejoicing since the return of Persephone and Demeter's joy. For the first time since then, Zeus felt a prick of guilt…and something else. Something entirely more worrisome.

"Brothers and Sisters!" He called, lifting his arms. The gods fell silent, all watching him with happy expressions. "I fear… I fear that we have made the wrong decision."

Demeter's ears pricked up at that, and she sat a little straighter in her throne. "What exactly do you mean by that, Zeus?"

"Calm down Demeter. I mean, I just spoke with Hades, and…"

"What, is he upset? Well, no offense to him, but that's to be expected. I mean, this isn't the first time he's lost a girl."

"No, you don't understand. First of all, that incident was years ago, and while it did affect him and how he reacts to situations, I believe that he loves Persephone more than he ever did that other woman. Second, the things he told me didn't sound like the tormented ramblings of a lover. I think he was honestly _afraid _for her. He kept saying that the Blood drinker _knew _where she was, and that she was in some kind of danger. I fear… I fear that she might have been safer in the Underworld."

"Wh-what?" The color had completely drained from Demeter's face, and she stared into Zeus's eyes.

"I'm sorry, sister. But I fear that Hades was right. I think we need to find Persephone, immediately."

"We can't!" Athena cried out, reaching toward Hades. "I'm sorry Demeter, but we cannot. Persephone has still not done anything worthy of our help yet. It would break the codes to help her. She's on her own for this one."

. . .

Hades allowed his mind to wander, letting it spread like ink with his shadows through his land, and assessing the new dead. Persephone was no longer as afraid as she had been, so he had to assume that she had escaped whatever had been tormenting her….ah. He had found it.

One soul that waited in line for the judgment stood out from the rest. He tapped his ghostly foot, muttering about certain 'bitches' and 'revenge' and 'unbelievable.'

Hades chuckled, and allowed his mists to swallow him, transporting to the place where the soul stood.

One of the patrolling Errinyes dropped out of the sky and bowed. "Massster," she rasped. "What can I do for you?"

Hades walked up to the soul. He could feel all the grave sins the man had committed in his life ooze out from around the soul's aura, almost tangible in their poison. "I'll take care of this one personally. You can let the judges know for me."

"Yessss." The Errinye flew off.

"What is it?" The soul was awfully impatient for someone who had just died. He had the silvery stain of a mortal wound marking a spot on his chest.

"Tell me, Freshly Dead; how did you die?"

The man looked afraid for the first time. "What…what do you mean?"

Hades smirked. "What? Didn't you think that your actions would have consequences in the future? Tell me; how did you die? Wait… wait. I know. Were you trying to rape an innocent girl? That's it, isn't it?" His voice stayed deadly slow and calm, but as he spoke the mists wove themselves into his long, black sword.

The man quaked beneath him. "What are you going to do to me?"

"It's simple really. Eternal torture, damnation, brimstone—all the stuff your preachers talked about, except worse. I am going to make every fear you ever had come true," he paused, a dark flame flickering in his eyes, "I am going to make you suffer, the likes of which rarely seen before, and just when you think you've had enough, when you are _begging _for relief, I am going to rip your soul into pieces and throw you into the depths of Tartarus. And I only wish there was more I could do. So, to answer your question, I'm going to do to you exactly what you deserve."

Ash raced along the barren landscape, trying not to alarm his new mistress but feeling the distinct sense of urgency that something was following them. He need not have hidden his emotions though. Persephone could feel her ring from Hades (which she had forgotten she still had) grow cold. The black flower seemed to turn almost silver on the edge of the petals, as though ice was growing on them.

She turned a little, trying to see what could possibly be following them. There was nothing. At least, nothing she could see.

. . .

The hunter followed his prey, hiding in the shadows and melting from place to place. The mortal rode her great hellhound through the pouring rain, and he could sense the blood pounding through her veins. Sweet, delicious blood.

But he couldn't attack yet. No, no. The mistress wouldn't want that. She'd want him to follow the girl, and find out what she had that was useful. It was best not to act on… instinct. Still, the girl was powerful. And powerful blood tasted _so _delicious…

. . .

Done! Sorry about the missing week guys—part of it was consumed by school, and part by… SOUL EATER. Yes, I know, I'm about the last person to have seen this show, and before now I was an avid non-anime person… but dear gods above! It's so amazing and addicting—even if you don't like anime, go watch it RIGHT NOW. So anyway… that's why this chapter took so long. Things are really starting to heat up… also, YOU GO PERSEPHONE! THAT'S RIGHT! YOU KILL THAT BASTARD!

Ahem… thanks for the reviews! I love you guys!

**Rachie-girl: yay, I'm glad! Thanks for reading!**

**Emilygirlxox: yes, isn't she? *laughs evilly. I love badass girls. There aren't enough of 'em in literature. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Madame Thome: I know, isn't he just a dear? Thanks for the constant reviews! **

**SangoIchimaru: Haha omg that's awesome. Pure awesome. That's exactly how it would have gone down, too. **


	19. Chapter 19: The Research

"Mmmmmmmmmm…" A soft, slow pause broke the humming as the maker of music drew a deep breath. The air became stagnant and dead as she stopped, as if this hummer breathed the very life into the unknown forest. But before too long, the humming began again. "Mmmmmmmmmmm…"

The woman walked slowly through the trees, running her hands along their bark and whispering her haunting melody. Everything in the forest was still; there was no conflict or competition or activity at all. If there was any life, other than the trees, it had hidden itself from view.

She picked up her soft trailing dress gracefully, so as not to catch it on anything, and a warm breeze gently blew the dark hair out of her face.

"M-my Lady," There was a rush as a flock of birds took off into the sky, and a shadowy figure stepped out of the trees and toward the woman. The Blood Drinker cowered, bowing low to the ground as he inched his way to her.

"Stop," she commanded. When she spoke, the forest fell to silence again, and the Blood Drinker halted in his tracks as though frozen in place. "What is the status of the girl?"

"What's it matter to you?" The Daemon grunted like it was hard for him to speak.

"WHAT'S IT TO ME?" The Titan's face twisted into a fierce scowl, and the Blood Drinker shrank back in utter fear. "IT IS…" she broke off, and cleared her throat, calming herself. "It is… of the upmost importance. I may be able to see the future, my fine worker, but I cannot see everything in the world all at once. And it is _your _job, my dear, to see what I cannot. Do not test me."

"Yes, my Lady. Um… one more thing?"

"What is it?"

"How are we meeting right now? I have not spoken with you in person since you saved me from Tartarus…"

"Ah!" The beautiful woman clapped her hands like a gleeful five-year old, and grinned. "What a smart little daemon you're turning out to be. This, dear one, is a dream! A mere construct in your mind! I can do that, you know. I can plant images in peoples' heads, make them see what they want to see…" She trailed off, examining her nails. "It can be a very beautiful thing. Of course," she paused again, and her eyes grew stormy. The leaves lying around her swirled up, whipping the Blood Drinker in the face but leaving the Titan completely free from harm. "It can also strike fear into the hearts of men."

The Blood Drinker swallowed thickly, but still looked bothered. "And… one more thing…"

"Yes, of course?"

"Why Persephone? You had me send my daemons into the Underworld to get her soul… and you want me to follow her now? Why do you want her so much? And why won't you just let me kill her?"

"That's your question? Well, I suppose it'll have to do. I cannot really tell you why I want her at the moment, my pet. But I can assure you, that little tramp will get what's coming for her, for killing one of your daemons. And I swear, Persephone might have been able to stay free from me when she was in the Underworld, but she isn't so safe anymore. And she's about to get some pretty bad nightmares." She chuckled madly, lifting her hands into the air.

The Blood Drinker stepped back, letting his mistress cackle like a demented hyena. "Yes… Lady Themis."

. . .

Ash slowed to a stop, panting heavily and shaking with exhaustion. He blinked several times to rid himself of tiredness, and glanced up at his sleeping mistress. He had found a town (bigger than the one before) to take Persephone, and he hoped she would be safer here than she had been before. She needed somewhere to practice her swordsmanship, and her magic, as well as a place to research and find out what had been happening on Earth while she had been busy with Hades.

Ash put his wet nose to the air, searching out a place that smelled safe. One of the many benefits of being a Hellhound—his nose was even better than a regular hound. He could literally smell emotions, which was how he had found Persephone just before she had contacted him telepathically.

Said mistress groaned from where she lay on his back, and stretched, looking up through her curtain of dirty hair. She could see a small town—really more of a large village—where she felt she would be safe—at least for a while. She didn't bother to hide Ash this time; instead she rode him, proud and tall, through the streets.

The children playing on the sidewalk stopped their games and stared as the larger-than-life dog and proud warrior woman stepped slowly through their home. Some ran off, only to come back with skeptical adults in tow. Soon there was quite the crowd watching Persephone, but she tried to ignore them. She urged Ash all the way to the village square, where she turned, searching for some kind of tavern. She quickly found what she was looking for; a rotting scummy building complete with a drunk lying in a pool of his own vomit and mud outside the front steps.

No, this would not do at _all. _

"Miss…"

Persephone turned to find herself staring into the eyes of a plump, cheery-looking woman.

"Miss, if I may… are you looking for a place to stay?"

Persephone nodded slowly, eyeing the kind face with suspicion.

"Well, no offense to Rosie, but the 'Bloody Boar' isn't exactly the place for a girl to get a peaceful night's sleep. I own a small bed and breakfast down the lane; would you like to stay there?"

Persephone looked at the other people surrounding Ash. Some looked awed, some angry, some wary, but none looked willing or brave enough to help her. None but this woman.

_What do you think, Ash?_ She connected with the Hellhound, gently poking at his mind to see if she could get a response.

_I think she is a kind soul, and though she smells faintly of fear, I believe she means well. I think you should take her up on her offer—I don't really fancy coming after you in the rain again._

Persephone nodded—more to Ash than the woman, but the woman took it in stride and hurried off down the muddy lane. She reflected on how remarkable it was that it was still raining, even after all the miles they had crossed, and all the time they had been moving. Persephone quite felt as though she was about to drown.

They reached the B&B soon enough; a cozy little place painted in pretty reds and yellows. The old woman had already climbed the steps to the front door, where she stood, hands on hips, trying to catch her breath.

"Can the hound come too?" Persephone knew her voice was monotone and threatening, but she simply didn't have the energy to sound nice.

The woman blinked. "Well…umm…" She looked as though she would say no, but right at that exact moment, Ash chose to let loose a low, terrible growl. The woman, when she heard that, decided that perhaps she had room in her little place after all. "Yes, well, I suppose that's alright. He'll have to get himself dry first, though."

_That wasn't very nice,_ Persephone thought, giving Ash a look. The hellhound just chuckled, which sounded even more menacing than his growl, if that were possible, and rolled his shoulders back as if in a shrug.

She hopped down from Ash's back and lugged herself up the stairs, following the woman inside. She held the woman back as Ash leapt all of the steps at once, shook himself, and squeezed through the double doors. The inside of the Bed and Breakfast was even more charming than the outside. Small carpets lined the house, along with little candle-lamps and other such things. Persephone felt like she had missed an entire age, being down with Hades. Hades. Even thinking the name made her angry. Well… angry, and sad, and confused, and hurt… it was best just not to think of those things.

"Do you have a place for me to wash myself and dry my clothes?" she asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"Yes, just head upstairs. The third room on the right is all yours—there should be a bathroom and bathing supplies there. Just let me know if there's any trouble—sometimes that useless servant of a girl forgets to bring up the hot water when there is company."

Well that didn't sound good. She noticed that the stairs were abnormally narrow, and glanced at Ash.

_You're going to have to sleep down here._

Ash didn't look too happy at that, and he narrowed his intelligent eyes. _Fine. But if anything happens, why don't you try calling me immediately, instead of waiting until you are about to die?_

She smiled, and for the first time noticing that the old woman was staring at her oddly. "Sorry," she said, clearing her throat. "Did you say something?"

The woman shook her head in amazement. "Well, yes, I did. You are an odd one, aren't you? Well, all I asked was if you were ready to head up. Which I suppose you are now. Oh, and my name is Eleanor." She smiled and turned, heading up the stairs and disappearing into the warm darkness.

Persephone glanced at Ash again. _You sure you'll be alright?_

_Yes. Just call me if you need me._

Persephone nodded and followed the woman up the old rickety stairs. She walked down a dark, carpeted hallway, and stopped when the woman gestured, without turning around, to the third bedroom on the right. Opening it, she sighed. It was nowhere near home, but it was warm, and safe, and cozy, and _dark. _She missed the darkness. She entered the small room and shut the door, leaning on it. She had the last two days' worth of grime and travel on her, and she quickly walked across the small room, not noticing any details of it, to the other door in the room that presumably led to the bathroom. She was right. She admired the steam coming up from the water, and stripped off her dirty clothes. Soon she was lying in a warm metal tub, scrubbing at the dirt in her hair and body. There was some kind of oil next to the silver tub, and she applied it to her hair, finding that it smelled of roses.

She very nearly fell asleep there in the tub, but she knew that she would catch a sickness if she stayed there, and she needed her health for the days ahead. Stepping out of the cooling water and into the cooler air, she found a towel on a chair in the corner of the small bathing room and wrapped it around herself, walking back into the bedroom. The idea of changing back into her dirty clothes was revolting to her, so she searched the small wooden chest at the foot of the soft, inviting small bed. There was a white nightgown in the chest, along with some underthings. Persephone put them on and, quick as possible, slipped into bed. She reached over to turn down the lamp, and realized that she had never lit it. She had taken her bath, and gotten ready for bed in near-complete darkness.

And as she fell asleep, completely against her wishes, she could only think of Hades.

. . .

The Blood Drinker bent to the cold ground, placing his crooked nose to it and inhaling loudly. He could smell the fear of the girl and the death on the dog from a mile away. He scoffed at the thought that he was doing the dirty work while Themis lazed around…wherever she was. She wasn't in Tartarus… perhaps hiding somewhere on Olympus? But it wasn't his job to wonder. It was his job to track.

. . .

Hades searched his library, making more and more scrolls appear as he ran out of papers to look through.

Corbin stood behind him, shaking his head and pursing his lips. He knew that the only way for Hades to repair his bond with the Queen was to find her and tell her what happened. He also knew that the girl would only really accept this apology if it came from Hades himself, and even then she might not forgive him.

But he also knew that Hades thought the girl was in danger. And he knew that Hades would stop at nothing until she was safely back in his arms. Not that she couldn't take care of herself. Based on what he had seen of that ghost, she was doing just fine up in the mean world above. That thought made Corbin chuckle, which he stifled quickly, trying to see if Hades had noticed. But the god was too busy searching for something—anything—that would bring his Moon Queen back to him.

"You do realize she can take care of herself, right?"

"Of course she can—she learned from the best, didn't she?"

"Don't be so pig-headed, Hades. It doesn't suit you."

"What does it matter, anyway? She's going to be attacked by Themis and the Blood Drinker soon, regardless of any skill she may have. Even the gods had a hard time getting rid of the titans, and she is only a demi-god."

"Speaking of the gods, don't you think it would be wise to let them know about Themis?"

That made Hades stop, and drop his shoulders in defeat. "Yes. Yes, I suppose you're right. I should try and talk to him again."

Corbin nodded, and pushed himself off the wall, going over to the bowl and preparing it for Hades' use.

Soon Zeus's face appeared, looking quite haggard and worried. "By the Styx, Hades! You had us all worried! What with you ending our last conversation so quickly, and the way you did! Wh—Hades? Hades, are you there?"

"Why, brother!" Hades' sarcastic tone rang out from where he stood by the books. "I'm shocked. Were you actually _worried _about me?"

Since he was so far away, Zeus couldn't see Hades, but his face twisted into a smirk at his voice. "Well, what did you think? That we care not at all for you, and we only use you for our own benefit? Well?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I did." Hades stalked up to the table, and sat down before the bowl, glaring at Zeus's lined face.

"Well, you're wrong. We care very much for you. You're very important to use, you know. And we just want what's best for everyone here—"

"Just stop. Please. You can go on about how much you care for me all you like, but don't pretend that the decisions you made were in the best interests of everyone involved, because they weren't. But I didn't call on you to argue about that."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I assume the others are there, listening?"

This made Zeus look quite uncomfortable, like a child who had been caught with forbidden sweets. "Well, yes."

"Good. Then I'll address you all. As I tried to tell you the last time we spoke, Persephone had figured out who is behind the Blood Drinker and his nonsense. And it isn't someone who you would expect."

"Well? Go on then."

"…I believe the culprit is Themis."

There was an immediate uproar. Hades could hear the arguments spout out from the bowl like a sudden burst of flame from a dragon.

"Themis? You've got to be joking!"

"The titan of divine justice?"

"'She of the lovely cheeks?' She who cuts fact from fiction and with a kindly hand delivers the right verdict in all things?"

"She who presides over the rights of the family?"

"Aside from all of her traits, do you forget that it was she who first welcomed the gods, and myself, on Olympus? That she comforted me, in my time of fear?" It was Hera who silenced the rest with her calm voice, offering cool anger to counter Hades' charge. Her face appeared in the bowl, making Zeus back away slowly to give her room.

Hades looked deeply into her solemn eyes.

"Do you realize just how grave an accusation this is, brother?" She said softly. "Perhaps you speak of Nemesis? Now she, we could all believe as capable of such crimes."

"No, I am quite sure." Hades leaned in close, making sure all of the gods could hear him. "Do you all forget that, however kind she has acted in the past, she acts upon the will of the people? She is the decider of justice, yes, but her justice is decided by common consent! If she were angry with us, she need only stir up the people until it was their 'common consent' to rise up against us! You must all admit, things have been strange on earth recently. The people are not happy!"

"But what could they possibly do to us? They are mere mortals!"

"They could stop believing in us!" Hades' sharp words bit back at Hermes, who had made the remark. "You all know as well as I do what happens when mortals stop believing! They have already stopped worshipping us in many places! And the human world is growing more dangerous by the moment. Even though Demeter's wrath has stopped, the world remains cold, and dark. Crops will not grow, and everyone suffers. The humans will not tolerate this for much longer! They are already dying in greater numbers than before! And these are not happy dead!"

"Well, there you are! You want to make your realm stronger, by adding more souls! How do we know that _you're _not behind all this?"

"Yeah! And how do we know what you tell us is true! Perhaps you exaggerate, to save your precious human whore—"

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Hades thundered, and the bowl was silent. He did not know who had said it, but they would pay. "HOW DARE YOU CALL HER THAT? HOW DARE YOU CALL HER ANYTHING!" He slammed his fists onto the table, making the image rattle with his fury. He stood, backing away from the table, and ran his hands through his hair. His mists writhed and coiled, thickening up around him like a great black cloud and growing thicker by the minute, leaving only his glinting eyes in view of the gods in the bowl. "Very well," he said, his voice suddenly calm and deadly soft. "I can see now that I will have to solve this on my own, since none of you are brave enough to help me. I shall send out a message, rallying the gods, and those who believe me and wish to help me are welcome. As for the rest of you," he scowled, and turned away from their reflection. "I never wish to speak with you again. Any of you. Goodbye."

The image vanished, and he walked to his bookshelves, continuing his search for anything that would help him. "Corbin," he said quietly, "would you please send out a message to every god but the main eleven of Olympus? Thank you. I believe we will need all the help we can get."

. . .

"What do you mean, 'you know nothing of the gods?'"

"Well, almost nothing. You see, I was brought up in a place that didn't really worship them, if you'll forgive me for that."

"You know, the funny thing is, dearie, two years ago I wouldn't have. Now? Well, now there's hardly a soul that still worships them truly. We all still go through the motions, but I'm afraid hardly anyone actually believes anymore."

Persephone sat in the living room of the old woman, drinking a cup of strong hot cider and petting Ash's big head. "Anyway," she said, "I want to know more about the titans. Specifically… Themis."

The old woman narrowed her eyes at her, but just nodded. "Well, alright then. You are an odd one though, aren't you?"

"Yes…yes, I suppose I am."

"Fine by me. You're quite amazing, and I haven't even seen you in action. And I have a feeling I don't want to see what you could do to a man. Anyway, so you want to know about Themis. Well, I suppose I know just as much as any good, worshipping woman does. She was a titan, born before Kronos. She was the titan of law and order, so to speak, and it is said that she judges kindly and fairly. She is well respected, and it is said that she is well-respected on Olympus too, not that anyone around here would care."

"Would she have any reason to hate the gods?"

"Well… she did bear children with Zeus before Hera, and then was expected to sit in Olympus and basically wash Hera's feet for the rest of time. I can imagine that making a girl angry."

"Yes, I suppose it could. Where do you think she lives?"

"_Lives? _Girl, I don't presume to be a goddess myself! I've never been on Olympus, and until I met you I doubted the gods' existence myself! I wouldn't even know where to start on where a titan bides her time! Though I expect it would be easiest to contact her or worship her in a house of law and justice, or at one of her temples. If there are any left standing."

"Hmm…" Persephone felt something cold on her finger, and looked down to find her ring from Hades constricting around her finger.

_Ash,_ she reached out carefully with her mind, being sure not to brush the old woman's mind in the process. _Ash, do you sense that?_

The hound lifted his nose to the air slowly, sniffing it with his eyes sharp and searching. _Yes, mistress, I do. _

_Is it the old woman?_

_No. Something outside. I think… I think it may be the Blood Drinker._

Persephone found an unusual amount of fear alive and well in her heart, and she stood, crossing over to the window and making the old woman start. She stood to the side of one of the windows, and slowly peered around one of the curtains.

At first glance, the street appeared to be completely empty; a shadow of the once-bustling village. But as she looked closer, she thought she could see something move, right in the shadows and just beyond her vision. And as she squinted harder, she thought she could just see the glinting of tow malicious red eyes…

. . .

Oh, hey guys… sorry for missing a week again, I know how much you all love it when I do that! But I have an excuse this time! I'm in a traveling choir, and we had stuff going on all week! We even had some things at five in the morning!

Also, you all have to forgive me, because today's my birthday… so… yeah. :D Anyway, here's another chapter, and I'm sorry for the delay, as usual.

I love reviews/critiques/love! Love to you all! Hope you all have a very Happy Christmas!

**Athena Of The Greeks: Me too lol, and she is quite the badass, isn't she? **

**diAngelosGirl: Isn't Soul Eater just great? And I love badass girls haha, I'm glad you liked it!**

**Madamethome: he is quite disgusting, isn't he? I'm quite glad he gets to suffer eternal torture for his sins ;)**

**Lewilder: Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I'm so glad you like it, it makes my heart swell with pride haha. Yes, I do love it when the boys stand up for their girls, even though I love a tough girl as well **** Thanks!**

**Aiko-Akita: There, a new chapter! You satisfied yet? Lol, thanks, and I love you, as always.**


	20. Chapter 20: The Nightmares

The Blood Drinker stared the girl in the eyes. He did not strike, nor did he step out from the shadows. In fact, when she blinked, he vanished from sight, hiding further in the dark. The Blood Drinker grinned at the thought of her heart pumping that delicious blood faster than usual in her fear. After all, that had been his goal in this—to cause her fear. To make her feel, in the depths of her soul, that she was being watched during every waking moment. And if her damn dog came after him…well… he could just melt away, couldn't he? It didn't matter how good the hound's nose was when he could just fade away and appear somewhere else. The trail leading back to him would always be spotty, at best.

Anyway, he forced himself back on topic. What was next on Themis's list, after scaring and following the girl? Ah yes…

. . .

Persephone pressed herself against the wall, closing her eyes against the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted desperately to believe that it wasn't truly the Blood Drinker that she had seen outside the window, but by now, she knew better. And she was finding it harder and harder to like this world above. Why, oh why, had she ever been afraid of the Underworld in the first place? Compared to this, it was as safe as any temple. Perhaps safer even. Persephone felt exhausted by fear and stress and heartbreak, and all she wanted to do was sink down, curl into a ball, and cry. In fact, she felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes as she thought about all the things that had happened in the last few days alone. She had lost the one she loved, been sent up to a world she didn't like, and killed someone. And now she was being tormented by someone who shouldn't even exist.

_My Lady, _Ash's soothing voice rang through her ears. _I think you could use some rest. _

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Although I feel as though I could rest for an age, and still not be caught up on sleep. And I don't like that I actually have to eat here."

With a start, she realized that the old woman—Eleanor—was still sitting there, staring at her. "Yes, yes, very odd. Though I suppose all of us are, in some ways. And somehow I don't think you're crazy—I think you actually have your reasons for speaking the way you do—I think they have to do with your dog…er…hound…as well. But if I may make a suggestion—it's strange enough that you _have_ that giant pet in the first place, but to talk to it as well? If you have a way to communicate with it without speaking, the way it does with you, I suggest you use it. If you want to make any friends among us mere humans, that is. Anyway, if you want to go up and sleep some more, that's fine by me. I won't let anything in. I'm tougher than I look." She smiled at Persephone, and made little shooing motions with her hands. "Besides. It should give me more time to connect with your friend."

Persephone nodded, and headed up the stairs, her gait heavy with worry. She wished she could just quit, and go live quietly somewhere anonymously for the rest of her life. But that wasn't an option. She was committed now, whether she liked it or not. And she had convinced herself that she wasn't doing this for Hades…which was mostly true. She wanted to sever all ties with that particular moment in her life as soon as possible. Which, for the moment, meant simply not thinking about it.

Laying her head down, she drifted into uneasy sleep.

"_Mmmmmmm…" The humming resonated through Persephone's whole body, making her tingle with a mixture of fear and warmth and comfort all in one. "Mmmmm—" The voice stopped suddenly, and a scene materialized. Persephone only realized then that there had been darkness before that moment. _

_It was some kind of forest, with peaceful trees and shushing breezes calm quiet. _

"_Why…if it isn't the Breaker, come to converse with me, of all people!" With the voice, a beautiful face and body became visible, standing before Persephone's own dream-body and smiling with child-like glee. _

"_The…the what?"_

"_The Breaker, Angel. You will be the one to tear the gods apart. I am quite sure of it. You are very important."_

_Persephone felt suspicious of this person, though she couldn't quite remember why, in her current state. "What do you mean? I'm not important to anyone. Not anymore."_

"_I think that depends on who you talk to, my dear. You are very important to several people, and you are about to become slightly more important. But that fact, in itself… isn't important. Ha ha hahaha…" she trailed off into breathless giggles. _

_While Persephone could see very plainly that the woman was mad, she could see the traces of genius, and anger, behind the insanity. The woman was concealing much, and was very good at playing the child-like, innocent by-stander. "What do you want with me?" She asked softly._

"_Oh, my darling, darling girl. I'm not going to tell you that just yet. But I am going to make you a deal. You can either come to the place I tell you to go quickly and quietly and without a fight, or I can make your every sleeping moment a misery. And I hate to break it to you, but here—unlike other places that I could name—you do need to sleep. So decide."_

_It was those words that finally seemed to bring Persephone out of her stupor. She finally knew, with certainty, that she was dreaming, and this fact gave her power of her dream. She could now make a conscious decision. She thought about it, and the more she thought, the more she recognized the woman as Themis, the titaness whom she was supposed to be fighting. But the idea of every sleeping moment being a horror…No. She would not be a coward. She had to remember why she was doing this…why was she doing this, again? Oh yes. For the safety of all humankind, as well as the…gods. And…yes…a specific god as well. _

_She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Themis. But I cannot accept your offer. I cannot go with you or do anything for you. Actually, I'm quite determined to stop you."_

_This seemed to push Themis over the edge. Her childish happiness faded away until her smile was more of a shark-like grin. Her eyes sharpened, glinting with anger and…some kind of joy. Persephone realized that, on some level, Themis had wanted this. She had wanted Persephone to refuse her, so she could do…whatever it was she was about to do. _

"_You think you've seen hell, girl. Think again."_

_With that, the scene dissolved, and Persephone fell into darkness. She was suspended there, staring unseeingly about, and waiting. What she was waiting for, she didn't know. But she did know that it wouldn't be good. _

"_Mmmmmm…" The humming started again, echoing in on all sides and pressing down on Persephone's ears. _

_She felt her heart beat faster and faster, yet she felt the inevitability of knowing that she was powerless to resist what Themis was going to do. _

"_Mmmmmm… ha ha ha hahaha…Hm…let's see now, girl. What are your greatest…fears?"_

_A scene materialized again, setting Persephone gently on a rough stone floor, on her knees. _

_Hades was standing before her, eyes wide with mocking anger. _

"_No," she whispered. "Not this. Not again."_

_"Wait just a moment," he said slowly. "You don't __love __me__,__ do you?" He laughed in her face, watching as she looked up at him. He could feel her heart shatter into pieces just as he felt his own crumble quietly into dust. "Oh you do, that's perfect. You really make this all too easy, __Mea.__ Why would anyone ever love __you__? Why, in the name of the gods, would anyone ever want anything to do with __you__, when there are so many more beautiful than you?" _

_The memory whispered through her, seeping like poison through her already wounded heart. "Please. Please stop."_

"_Oh, child. I've only just begun." _

_The scene faded away once more, only to light up again, on something Persephone could never have imagined. She was on her knees again, this time before the Pomegranate trees in Hades' garden. Hades himself lay in her arms, clutching tightly to her and gasping. As more of the scene materialized, she came to see that they were lying in a pool of Hades' blood, so thick and large that her clothes were soaked with it. She immediately found herself choking on sobs. _

"_No. Nononononono…" The words became a chant, as she cradled the man that she didn't want to love in her arms. _

"_I-I'm…so sorry…" Hades coughed, spattering her face in droplets of blood._

"_No. No, it's alright. Shh…it's going to be alright. You're going to be fine…" Tears streamed openly down her face now, and she pushed his hair back from his clammy face. She knew it was impossible. Hades was the god of the Underworld. He couldn't die. He just couldn't. But somehow the dream seemed so real… as if this was actually happening. _

"_I-I love…you…" The light left him with his words, and with a cry Persephone found herself alone and floating in space once more. _

"_Please," she begged. "Please. Let it be enough. Please, just leave me alone."_

"_Oh dear, tired already? We've only just begun!"_

_A new place appeared, showing the Underworld, but not as Persephone had known it. While she had been there, it had been a final place of resting for the dead, and there was something extremely peaceful about that. But now, there was no rest. The souls ran about in complete bedlam, and the fires that Persephone, even in her rough knowledge of the gods knew belonged in Tartarus and the Fields of Punishment roared and consumed the white trees of the dead. No Hellhounds ran free through this place; instead there was only insanity and fear and corruption…exactly the opposite of what should be part of the afterlife. _

"_It's because of you, you know." Themis's voice rang out again, piercing Persephone from all sides. _

"_What do you mean?" She knew she shouldn't rise to the bait, but she couldn't help herself. _

"_All of this. Once you left, Hades fell into grief. Because you didn't join me, he gave up. He let himself, and the Underworld go. Why…I wouldn't be surprised if soon he turns into nothing more than a myth. If people don't believe he's real anymore…why I expect that he would simply fade into nothing, along with the rest of the gods. After all, they aren't exactly held in the highest regard right now. So disappointing. And it's all thanks to you, my darling girl."_

"_But…but…I didn't do this!"_

"_Really? Hm… I rather thought you did. After all, Hades might have said the words, but you didn't have to believe him, now did you? But you did. You accepted them without question, like the good little girl you are. Ha."_

_Persephone turned madly, but could not find the source of Themis's voice. "What do you mean? What reason did I have for doubting him?" _

"_HA! Shows what you know. You don't deserve him. Not that you could possibly know what he has done. And the best part is, it's too late for you to do anything about it! Too late for you to repair any of the damage you've done. HAHAHAHAHA…Well…let's move on, shall we?"_

_Another scene opened up before her, replacing the previous one. Persephone tried to strengthen her mind; to create a barrier to block out Themis, but she feared that it was not very useful. Themis had surprised her; had sent a shock to her system and delivered a blow that left her reeling. Which was, she was sure, Themis's purpose in the first place. As she tried to get a hold of herself and put aside the new information to think about for later, she felt a panic seize her heart that filled her with icy dread. _

"_Oh, and you're wrong, you know," Themis's voice rang sweet and strong through as Persephone shook her head, pressing her fists to her mouth as if she could keep out what she was watching. "The gods can die. All it takes is for people to refuse to accept them anymore. Once most everyone stops worshipping and starts living out their own lives, the gods will become as mortal as any man. And then…" She trailed off, letting Persephone soak up the scene. _

_It was a graveyard, stretching on endlessly into every direction. There were no trees, and the sky was grey and rainy, and the green damp grass spotted with graves just went on and on. Directly in front of her were the twelve graves of the twelve most important Olympians, inscribed only with names, alone and forgotten. It seemed as if everyone in the world was dead. _

"…_and then," Themis continued her speech, quietly this time, as if to drive home her point. She materialized beside Persephone, her blue dress rippling gently in the breeze. "And then I shall kill them. All of them. And the titans shall seize the thrones that are rightfully ours once more. I will bring all of us back from the depths of Tartarus, and wherever else they are scattered across the globe. And to get to Tartarus, I'll have to go through your precious Hades first."_

_Persephone stared at her, horrified and more confused than she had been before. "But… why…why would you tell me this?" She struggled to choke back her tears. She didn't particularly like the other Olympians, but she didn't want them all dead, either. _

"_It's quite simple, my child. I'm sure I'm going to win. And someone who knows they are going to win doesn't need to worry about the pitiful protests of one weak girl. But that is all moot. Ready for more?"_

_Persephone took a deep breath, and it started again._

. . .

"I can't _stand _this, Corbin! I can feel her pain—she's having a nightmare, and I can't do _anything._ I can only sit here and feel everything that happens. And it's all my fault."

"Yes, yes, we know, we know. You are just a terrible person, woe is you. With all due respect, get over yourself, Hades. You want to save her? Continue your work. She's strong, and brave, and you taught her much in your time with her. But worrying and worrying over something you can do nothing about. Continue to rally the gods. We have had responses from several gods. Ares, for one, will fight with you. Not exactly surprising, but there you have it. Aphrodite would fight with him, she says, but apparently Themis was always kind to Hephaestus, and he refuses to join you. Respectfully, he says. Artemis will fight as well, and Dionysus. Hera, obviously, will not be joining us, but Hermes is. Poseidon wants to, but says that he will side with his brother on this. And, finally, two most surprising additions. The first is Hestia, goddess of the hearth, and the second…well…the second is Demeter, my Lord."

"Demeter? Why, I never thought the day would come when she would fight with me, after all I supposedly did to her daughter. Alright. So that's Ares, Artemis, Dionysus, Hermes, Hestia and Demeter. Six of the eleven. Well, I can't say that's a spectacular showing of strength against a titan, but it will do. Anyone else, aside from the major ones?"

"Yes. Ananke, the minor goddess of inevitability and compulsion; Nyx, the goddess of night (she always has fancied you, if you don't mind my saying it); Nemesis, goddess of revenge; Circe, the goddess who…er…transforms her enemies into beasts; Eros, god of love and…sexual desire along with his wife Psyche; Iris, goddess of rainbows; and Hecate, goddess of magic."

"Seems like we have a lot of women volunteering here. That's what, seven women and one man from the minor gods? Why are the men so pathetic?"

Corbin raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"Yes, yes, you're right. I should be grateful… hmm…is there anything else I need to know about recruitments?"

"Well… not exactly…"

"Spit it out, Corbin."

"Well…you remember how the Fates were angry with you a while ago? How they convinced Hermes to stop delivering souls?"

"Yes," Hades said slowly.

"That tablet was important to them, yes. But they could have simply spoken with you first, instead of spreading rumors throughout the gods and infuriating them. What they did was rash and seemed almost…unplanned. Well, I discovered something."

"Yes, what is it?"

"The Moirae—the Fates—they are her children. They are the children of Themis."

Hades blinked, staring at his friend with wide eyes. Then he cleared his throat. "She's got the Fates on her side? Great."

His eyes glazed over suddenly, and Corbin stared at him with concern. He had the same look on his face that Corbin wore when Hades was communicating with him through mind-speak, and Corbin knew that something important was happening.

Then the glazed look left his eyes, and he gasped, sinking into his chair.

"Master? What is it?" Corbin rushed over to him, holding out his hands as if to stop his master from toppling over.

Hades looked even paler than usual, if that was possible. "It's P-Persephone. She talked to me."

. . .

The rest of Persephone's night had been filled with nightmares. None as horrendous as the first ones, but all bad. Everything from falling from great heights to drowning in the Styx to being devoured by hellhounds in the fields, to watching Hades die in her arms over and over again and again. And she couldn't do anything to stop it.

She had finally woken up after a particularly nasty drop off a cliff toward Tartarus. She sat up with a gasp and wrapped her arms around her legs.

_Mistress? _She could hear Ash's voice in her mind, and forced herself to be strong for just a moment, while she was talking to him.

_Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just a nightmare. I'll be alright. Go back to sleep._

_Alright, my Lady._

She shut the barriers in her mind, closing the connection between her and the hound momentarily. Then she allowed her fear and shock to overwhelm her. Sobs wracked her body and she buried her face in her knees, shaking horribly. This was all too much. Obviously Ash could not sense her fears while she was asleep, which meant Themis had a way of shutting her down, so she wouldn't be able to communicate, even subconsciously, with him. The titan could wreak havoc on her soul and no one could do anyone about it. And Persephone had a feeling that Themis wasn't finished, either.

With that, she realized that this was the last straw. She would try. She rationalized it, of course. What was the harm in trying? All he could possibly do was say 'no,' or refuse to respond to her.

Perhaps it would do more harm, though. What if he did respond, only to sting her again?

No. She pushed those thoughts from her mind. She would try. She needed someone to talk to—no, she needed to talk to _him._

_H-Hades? Hades? Can you h-hear me?_ For a few moments there was only silence, as if she were standing on the edge of a cliff, shouting into empty black space.

But then, with a slight tug on her mind, she felt a string stretch out, connecting her to something on the other side of the divide that she could not sense.

She felt her pulse race faster, and tried again. _Hades? Hades, are you there? _

The string shivered, and suddenly light seemed to dawn on the other figure, sending his consciousness spiraling toward her.

His voice was incredulous, and filled with shock and unexpected joy. _Persephone?_

. . .

Another chapter! A little shorter than the last, but still satisfying, I hope? Anyway, Happy New Year almost! Reviews are love, and I love you all as usual. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my fanfiction, guys!

**Athena of the Greeks: A very Happy late Birthday to you as well! And thank you, though I wouldn't speculate too much ;)**

**diAngelosGirl: Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like it!**

**Ennui deMorte: Thank you so much, and yes, as a matter of fact she did lol ;)**

**Madame thome: Thank you!**

**Aiko-Akita: Thank you my dear! **** 3**


	21. Chapter 21: The Apology

Oh… hey guys! So…I'm back! :D and I know I've been gone forever, but my excuses are at the bottom, and I don't want to repeat myself, so just know; I'm back!

. . .

_Hades, is it really you? _She wasn't sure why she was asking—she already knew it was him. Perhaps some part of her was afraid that she was dreaming again

_It's me, it's me! Oh, Persephone. _The last time she'd heard him say her real name, it had been with spite and cruelty. To hear it again, even so full of remorse, was to spark the fire of anger within her that had almost gone out.

Almost.

_Why on the Styx did you respond, Hades? Why bother? Are not your feelings still the same?_

_Why did _you _try and talk to me then? _His retort was well-aimed, and she shrank back from his consciousness, realizing her folly. _Wait! _He cried out, reaching for her. _Wait, Persephone, just listen to me. Look, I know I hurt you. I know that anything you ever did as vengeance would be well-deserved. But surely you must realize by now—__I didn't mean it._

Persephone sat in stunned silence, her ears ringing with the news. She groped for something—anything—to say in reply, but was saved the humiliation when Hades continued.

_I don't expect you to forgive me, or even to understand why I did it, but you have to listen to me. You're in danger. Great danger. You were right about Themis—she's coming after you. But she's not the only one. The gods are dividing over this, and I fear there will be a war. You have to be careful; Themis is the greatest threat. If she finds you…_

_It's a little late for that warning, Hades. _She was so close to hysteria, she almost laughed aloud.

_What? Has she already found you? Persephone, are you in danger? _His worried voice encompassed her in warmth, but beyond its distraction, she could feel his mind pick at hers, trying to find out what had happened.

_Don't _do _that! _She sent out a wave of resistance, and he pulled back. She was getting stronger. _What right have you to poke and prod at my mind? What part of you makes you think it's fine to find my secrets against my will? They are _my _secrets to hold, Hades! Mine! And I don't care how powerful you are; you have no right and no reason to pull at me. I am the keeper of my _own _soul. _

Hades did not reply for a moment, and then he touched her again, his voice apologetic and soft. _I'm sorry, Persephone. Truly, I am. It won't happen again. _

Persephone did not reply to this; she was done hearing his excuses. _Now, do you want to know what happened?_

_I do._

_Very well. But any sign of you prying and I'm gone. _

_Alright. _

She began.

. . .

"Themissss…"

"Yes?" Themis's deep voice was deceptively soothing.

"There isss someone here, with the girl."

"You mean other than the hound and the old woman?"

"Yess… there is a presence…in her mind. I cannot sense who it isss…"

"Hmm… Well, that could be anyone, really, but I think I know who it is. Do the gods know where she is yet?"

"I don't think so, your eminence."

"Good. Then I don't see how it matters. On other matters, some of the gods have begun to contact me."

"A good sssign…"

"Indeed. Everything is going according to plan."

. . .

Hades sat in silence after she had finished. His presence in her mind was heavy, as though he were coming up with battle strategy right there. Which he probably was.

She waited for him for several minutes, basking in the glow of his soul for the first time in what felt like forever.

He finally spoke. _You need to tell me where you are. _

_Not a chance. _Her answer was final and deliberate. She would be doing this for herself.

_Don't be stupid, Persephone. You need protection. And I can't protect you while you're up there. Tell me where you are! Let me help you!_

_No. I will not. I will find out more information on Themis. Maybe I can find out what her game is. And it is a game to her, Hades, make no mistake. _

_I will not allow this. I will not. I don't know what Themis is trying to accomplish, aside from dividing the gods. And perhaps that's all it is. What if you're doing all of this for nothing? _

_It's not for nothing. There is something else going on here. Why else would she be bothering me?_

_I don't know; maybe she gets some kind of sick joy out of torturing you_. _Either way, it's not worth the risk. Tell me. Where. You are. _

_No. _Without allowing herself to think about it, she severed the link. Hades was gone, and she was left alone with her thoughts, awaiting the coming dawn.

. . .

Hades slammed his fists down on his desk. Corbin was still standing before him, looking not-so surprised and more than a little worried.

"What happened, my Lord?"

"She is gone. She cut the link."

"Well, with all due respect, Hades, what did you expect? You jilted her, in the worst and most idiotic way possible. What I want to know is, why did she make the connection in the first place? What happened?"

"Umm…" Hades scratched the back of his neck, staring sheepishly at his servant.

"You _didn't find out? _You've got to be joking? You held a conversation with her for half an hour straight and never found out why the girl whose heart you broke wanted to speak with you suddenly?"

"Well…no?"

Corbin rolled his eyes, threw his hands in the air, and headed for the door. He stopped and the entrance. "Did you find _anything _useful?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Themis has already found her. She knows where she is."

"You didn't bother to try and find out what she was doing to her?"

"I did. Themis has been tormenting her in her dreams. I just can't figure out _why._"

"My Lord, where is Themis?"

"I…I don't know that either. Why?"

"Well…never mind. I had an idea, but it can't work the way I thought."

"Well then. In the future, if you could just keep your pointless ideas to yourself and save the important ones for saying out loud, it would be more beneficial for all of us, thank you."

Corbin raised an eyebrow. "No need to be defensive, Hades. And try to remember that I am your only trustworthy ally at the moment."

"Right, of course. Sorry."

"Yes, well, I've dealt with you for many years; I suppose I can handle you being an ass now, but I must say, I liked you better when you were around Persephone." With that, Corbin took his leave, and Hades slumped back in his chair.

He needed to find Persephone, whether or not she wanted to be found. Her safety was more important than anything else. He summoned the Furies.

. . .

She needed more information, but she felt helpless to get it. She could not sleep, and she could not do anything about her situation.

Oh, but she could. She had to remind herself to be strong, since there was no one there to do it for her.

_Ash, _She called down. She got out of bed.

_Yes, Mistress? _The hound was awake in a moment, and she could hear him let out a low growl down below.

_Stop that; we don't want to wake her. I have just spoken with Hades._

_Really? What did he say? _Ash's tail began to thump against the floor, and Persephone sighed.

_Calm yourself. He said that the gods are choosing sides over Themis. I fear that this is exactly what she wanted. He also said that the gods who oppose us will be trying to find me; whatever for, I don't know. I expect that some of them are just mad at Hades for drawing out his decisions so much, and the others will just follow whoever leads them. _

_Oh. _Ash mulled over this new information. _Well then. _

_What are we going to do, Ash? _

_I suppose we'll keep moving. And you need to contact Hades again._

_What? Why?_

_Because you _need _to be able to sleep. Above all else, that is imperative. If you cannot sleep, then no matter what else we do, you will not be fully up to the task. Everything else will suffer. And I'm sure that Hades has ways to help us. _

_Us?_

_Well of course. You didn't think you'd have to do this alone, did you?_

. . .

So….hi. *waves sheepishly. I am so SO sorry I haven't updated in forever. I have been ridiculously busy, starting with finals and then auditions and a whole bunch of other crap I had to do, and fanfiction was sort of the last thing on my list at the time. And I'm sorry that this is so short, but I am hoping to update several times in the next week to make up for my absence. Again, SORRY! love you all!

**Rachie-Girl: I KNOW RIGHT! I love Hades but sometimes I just want to slap him across the face. Thank you so much for the support! I love you too!**

**Athena of the Greeks: Thank you so much! I'm glad your birthday was good, and I'll check out Skyfall! 3**

**Aiko Akita: Update your goddamned fanfic. -_-**

**Madame thome: Indeed, we shall see… ;)**

**Guest: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it! Happy (belated) New Year to you as well!**

**Guest 2: I assure you, if you read on, things will grow clearer. If you need any clarification, just review and I'll be sure to make edits.**

**Guest3: Thank you, and I am—finally!**

**Guest4: I am back finally! Yay!**

**Guest5: Yup…I'm so sorry for my absence!**


	22. NOTICE!

Hey guys! New chapters coming up! Sorry for my absence! If you could all go back to chapter 15; it's actually new now-I've had it written for quite sometimes but didn't realize that I hadn't posted it-instead I had posted chapter 14 twice! So sorry guys-chapter 15 is actually quite important-it explains how Persephone found out that the 'bad guy' was actually the Titaness Themis. So so sorry again- just look at it like a bonus chapter! and I promise, more from me this week!


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